


The Story of Kody Grey: The Beginning

by hyenafur



Series: The Story of Kody Grey [1]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Bunnyburrow (Zootopia), Cultural References, Dialect, Disney References, F/M, Wolfsberg, Zootopia (City)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 04:46:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 35
Words: 35,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11913513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyenafur/pseuds/hyenafur
Summary: Josephine Grey had never expected to be a single mother, but after a night of passion with her boyfriend, the vixen returned home to Bunnyburrow with a bundle of joy she named Kody. Four years later, after having to raise Kody with the help of her family, her former boyfriend's family contacts her to try to heal the wounds he caused.





	1. Josephine Grey

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read Mark Twain or Joel Chandler Harris, then this may not be up your alley. Much of the dialogue, especially in the first story, is written in the style of the Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn novels and Uncle Remus. For those not familiar with the previously mentioned novels and story collections, they are notoriously difficult to read, for both English as a primary language speakers and English as a tertiary language speakers, since they're written in dialect rather than using standard English. Ultimately, writing in dialect negates the reader from trying to imagine how a character sounds by giving them the exact dialect which the characters are speaking in.
> 
> This being said, please do not ask me to rewrite a story's dialogue when it is meant to be written in a specific style.

Josephine Grey had been eighteen when she went to the big city. Her parents had cried, and her brother, Joshua, had given her a great big hug. It was a special moment for everyone since she was the first Grey to go to college, but it also meant that she’d be in Zootopia and away from her family for the first time. After a few tears, she’d managed to get on the train before it rocketed away.

Jo had always been pretty, though, she’d rarely heard anyone say so outside of the other predators that lived in Bunnyburrow. She was tall for a vixen, but not overly so, and she was curvy. Her body was covered in a soft reddish yellow that looked almost like faded orange. Most of the guys told her that she should be in pictures, and she had agreed, though, not the pictures they were thinking of. She wanted to be a movie star. She didn’t have much in the way of acting outside of school plays, so she’d worked hard to get into Zootopia University’s School of Performing Arts.

Jo giggled as he sat on the train. It was never hard for her to turn heads, mainly because she looked so different from most of the foxes the passengers usually saw. She had figured that it was her fur color, but in reality, they were actually staring at her because her wardrobe screamed country girl. She’d worn short shorts and a plaid short-sleeve shirt. Her long legs drew everyone’s attention, which only got more interesting when she’d gotten off the train at Zootopia station.

As she headed towards the metro line to the university, she received several calls and whistles from several felines and wolves. Of course, the attention only made her laugh and blush as her long fluffy tail flicked around behind her. She was loving the attention, especially since it was coming from a more diverse group of animals, most of whom hadn’t seen a girl wear shorts that high up on her hips.

After another short ride, she’d finally made it there. Her eyes dancing up and down the old gothic architecture as she walked into the registrar’s office. The paperwork was the worst part though. Forms had to be signed in triplicate. She had to hand over a check for almost $5,000, the most money she’d ever had in her hands let alone seen, and that was just for her first semester. Finally, after everything was done, and she had signed up for freshman courses, the registrar handed her the keys to her dorm room.

“You’ll be rooming with another vixen,” the mare had said as she pushed the keys towards her, “Classes start next week.”

Jo had taken the keys and given the horse a warm smile, “Thank ya’, ma’am. I look forwards t’meetin’er.”

The woman just chuckled as she drank in the vixen’s accent, “I’m sure she will too.”

 

Jo let out a sigh as she plopped down on the bed. She was the only one in her dorm room, and from the looks of things, her roommate hadn’t even moved in. Part of her was saddened by the prospect of not meeting her roommate today, but she figured that the other girl would be here later on. She was a week early after all.

Slowly, Jo sat up and started to claim her spot in the small room. She took the right bed, dumping out her clothes first before putting them away in the nearby closet. The vixen then turned her attention to making her bed. She’d done that every morning since she could remember, even making her brother’s bed so their parents wouldn’t skin him alive for being messy. The memory couldn’t help but make her giggle a bit as she smoothed out the white cloth over the mattress before tucking in each side. Once the clothes were put away and the bed was made, she didn’t really have much else to do other than arrange her toiletries, but that could wait a bit. Something in her begged for her to start exploring not just the campus, but the city. She had just started to think about that when her stomach began to growl at her.

“Guess it’s time fer sum grub,” she giggled to herself as she grabbed her keys and headed to the dining hall.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chris Rowan

Christopher Rowan, “Chris” to his friends, sat in the dining hall munching on a sandwich. The red fox was tall and muscular, almost looking like a miniature wolf more than a fox. He could have gone somewhere else to eat, but Chris liked watching all the new students come in. “New meat,” he chuckled to himself, eyes darting over the throngs of Freshman and transfer students. There were a few cuties here and there, though, most of them were prey species or domestics. He knew most of them wouldn’t consider talking to him, let alone shacking up with him for the night, but it was fun to just watch and imagine. He’d almost given up on his day dream when he watched a vixen wander in.

The tod blinked a few times, a hand moving to adjust his sunglasses as he gave her a good once over. He stared at her while taking a long sip on his soda, eyes dancing over her curves but mostly focusing on that long fluffy tail and what it was attached to. “Country bumpkin,” Chris churred to himself, a sly grin wandering over his lips as he watched her order something in a thick accent that took the server a few times to understand, “I’m gonna tap that.”

It took Jo a few minutes to get through the line, mostly because the servers needed her to speak even slower than she already did, but finally, she had gotten her burger and fries. She walked away from the counter, a smile on her face. She held onto the tray as her eyes looked around for someone to sit with.

There was a pack of wolves sitting around one table, all of them eyeing her and panting. The alpha gave her a wink, which made her blush. She knew that in the big city, it wasn’t uncommon for inter-species relationships, and even marriages, to happen, and it wasn’t like the idea didn’t sometimes wander through her head, but she politely declined and kept walking. She was just about to sit alone when a voice called over to her, “Need a seat?”

Chris was smiling as Jo made her way over to him. He was finally getting a closer look at her and he liked what he saw. “Thank ya,” the vixen replied as she slid into the seat next to him.

“So, what’s your name,” he asked, trying to be nonchalant and a tad distant as if he wasn’t already stripping her nude in his mind.

“Josephine, but everyone calls me Jo,” she replied as she blushed, “I ain’t seen many foxes round yet.”

Chris smiled as he turned his full attention to her, “We’re around, but we’re a minority.”

“I figgered as much since I gots a my-norty skollership here.”

 The tod couldn’t help but chuckle at her accent. It made him wonder what she would sound like in the sack. “I’m Chris by the way,” he added as he pushed his hand towards Jo.

“It’s a pleasure t’make yer ‘quaintance,” the vixen said as she gripped his hand. Chris was a bit surprised by her hand strength, but even more surprised by the way she shook his arm up and down. Then again, he should have expected this from a country girl.

“You new here,” he asked even though he already knew the answer.

“Yup! First time to tha big city. Errythin’s’big here!”

The tod laughed, “It’s why they call it the big city.”

Jo giggled, “I s’pose so.”

Chris gave her a smile as he chose his next words to be filled with entendre, “You looking to go exploring?”

“Course I am! I wants t’see errythin,” Jo replied, her face beaming brightly.

“Free later?”

“I gots nuthin’ t’do ‘cept hit th’book-stirr.”

“I know all the best places in town,” the tod smirked, “I’ll show you a great time.”


	3. When Chris Met Jo

Chris had been right. He had shown her a great time. The tod dragged Jo all over the city over the next week. They hit all the touristy places during the day, mostly museums and public buildings, and then Chris took her out every night to bars, restaurants, clubs, and discotheques. Unlike other vixen he’d been with though, Jo wasn’t about to let him see what was under her daisy dukes, something that frustrated him quite a bit. The two continued on like this, though their explorations moved away from weekdays and over to weekends once classes started up.

It was the last week in September and the first week in October when Chris finally was able to get what he wanted. He’d spent half of August and nearly all of September trying to get into Jo’s pants, but it was all about to pay off. He’d been working on her for some time, and he knew that tonight was the night as he wrapped his knuckles on the door.

Jo was right behind the metal door, a big smile on her face as she slipped out into the hallway. “Ya ready, sugar,” she asked as her tail flicked around behind her.

“I sure am,” Chris replied in a deep murr as he put his arm around her, leading her out of the dorms and towards his car.

 

The vixen and the tod hit up their favorite discotheque called “The Glacier” over in Tundra Town. Jo always had to wear an extra layer when they went there, but she certainly enjoyed the synth music. It was very different from the songs her parents played back home, and the beats were always fun to dance to. That’s what they did most of the night, dance, their bodies bumping against one another as the music boomed around them.

It was close to midnight when Jo and Chris left, the vixen leaning against the tod as they trudged through the snow towards his car. “That was wonderful,” the woman said in a soft churr, her head leaning against his shoulder. The tod just murred deeply as his hand slowly slid up and down her side, “It’s gonna get better. Ready for a drive?”

Jo nodded as she followed him to the car, sliding into the passenger seat as Chris started the engine. “Wur ya thinkin’,” she asked as she looked over at him. “I know a nice quiet spot, don’t worry,” the tod replied as he gave her a warm smile.

Chris was right again. The spot he found was quiet, then again, public parks usually were at night. Jo was still coming down from the high of dancing as she pressed her back into the seat. “Mmm… Thank ya, Chris,” she churred warmly, eyes closing as she let out a stretch. She almost wanted to doze off right there, but she felt a hand on her thigh.

“Don’t thank me yet,” the tod replied in a lusty murr, his paw gently squeezing her denim covered leg as he leaned in to give her a kiss right on the lips.

Jo blinked a few times as she felt his muzzle pressing against hers, his hand kneading her thigh. He’d done something like this before, and she’d given him a good smack across the muzzle for it, but tonight felt right. Slowly, she started to melt into the kiss, her own tongue beginning to lap against his as her hand moved to rub over his chest.

Chris growled deeply. It was all going according to plan. The hand on her thigh started to slither between the vixen’s legs, gently rubbing her through her jeans while their lips smacked together. He could hear her let out a soft coo as her hips wiggled against his hand, her chest heaving up and down.

Slowly, Jo broke the kiss to blush. “How… How’re we gonna do it up here,” she asked as she stared into his eyes. Chris just chuffed, “Backseat. Why?”

Jo just blushed deeper, “I… I ain’t never done nuthin with a guy b’fore.” Her words just made the older fox grin wider as pulled away from her before reaching over the vixen to pull on the seat adjustment knob, “Tonight’s your lucky night.”

Jo let out a yip as she felt her body fly down. She hadn’t expected that at all as she looked above her at the rumble seat. The fox blushed as she slowly rolled over before climbing onto the bench seat. Chris didn’t wait long to join her, his pants tenting from the smell of her heat. The vixen blushed as she stared at him, her sex so fiery hot. “Chris… maybe… maybe we should wait. I’m,” she started to say, but the tod cut her off, “In heat. I know. Don’t worry. I’ll wear a condom.”

Chris’s promise was hollow. He didn’t have any condoms, and he wasn’t going to wear one tonight. Vixens in heat were always great and going in wrapped just ruined it. But Jo didn’t know that one bit. She was in heat, in need, and she liked Chris. It didn’t help that he was one of the few fox’s she’d met, but he seemed to show some genuine interest in her. Of course, that was all an elaborate ruse too, but the eighteen year old vixen was clueless.

Chris grinned as he sat on his knees on the passenger seat, his hands moving to the vixen’s chest as he slowly started to unbutton her top. Jo pressed her bust into the tod’s paws, her lips moving to kiss him again while his skilled fingers undid every button. Their tongues danced a lewd tango with one another as they chuffed, churred, murred, and moaned.

Jo’s fingers roamed over Chris’ chest, hands sliding down to brush over the imprisoned member. She fumbled for his zipper, gripping and groping for the metal tab that could free him, but all she managed to do was grope him.

The tod snorted as he broke the kiss. He usually enjoyed stripping someone naked, but the way she was bumbling about made him think otherwise. It had been a long time since he’d had a virgin. High School in fact, and her innate late of knowledge showed. Maybe getting fully nude wasn’t a good idea.

“Lay down,” Chris commanded as he looked at Jo, “Lay down on your chest and pull your pants and panties down.”

Jo blinked a few times. His voice had changed from being lusty to being lusty and forceful. It confused the woman for a few brief seconds before she obeyed. The vixen slowly slid up onto her knees before turning around, looking out of the back of the car as she reached under herself to unbutton her jeans. She pulled them and her soaked panties all the way down to her knees before she pressed her belly down onto the leather seats. The vixen looked over her shoulder, her face completely flushed. “I’m ready,” she squeaked out.

Chris had turned around to unzip his pants. He fished his member out of his trousers, holding his pulsing foxhood in his hand as he made a few motions with his arms, pretending to put on a condom. She was going to feel wonderful. “I’m ready. Just look straight forward,” the tod replied as he looked over his shoulder, finally getting a good look at her pert red rump and dripping nether lips before the vixen draped herself over his back seat. She wasn’t going to feel wonderful. She was going to feel amazing.

Jo huffed and panted as he looked at the driver’s side rear door. She wondered what it was going to be like. She’d heard from a few of the rabbit girls that it felt amazing, especially from Bonnie Springer. Sometimes she just wouldn’t shut up about her beau, Stu. The vixen’s ears flicked around wondering what was taking so long until she felt Chris press his chest to her back, his hands sliding under her to grip her breasts. She felt something slick and throbbing against her pert cheeks, as the larger fox’s hips rocked against her. Jo was about to say something when one of the tod’s hands left her chest to reach down and between them.

Chris gripped his member as he looked between them, guiding his tip towards the fiery heat between Jo’s cheeks. He poked under her tail, something that made the vixen snarl at him. “Anal is out,” he thought to himself, “but I want that pussy more.” The tod aimed himself just a bit lower, feeling her sex against the glands. She felt like she was furnace, and he was going to put a log on that fire. With a quick thrust, he forced himself inside her, the tightness of her untouched tunnel swarming around him. “Ohhh… shit…” Chris snarled as he flopped on top of Jo, his teeth nipping and nibbling on the back of her neck.

Jo’s initial reaction to the penetration was to let out a surprised yelp. She felt like a stuffed turkey more than a woman as she felt his member rubbing and grinding against her tunnel’s walls. Her yelp slowly morphed into a gentle whimper then a moan as strong hands groped and massaged over her breasts, the tod’s hips rocking back and forth in quick procession.

“Goddamn! She’s fucking tight,” Chris snarled to himself, teeth nipping that reddish yellow fur on her nape. The tod wasn’t a small, but everyone already knew that. What they didn’t know was that he was far from being small between his legs. Most of the girls he’d been with compared him to a wolf, which was no surprise, especially when a few of those girls had been wolves. But he’d never felt such a vice grip on his prick like the vixen below him. Chris wasn’t a three pump chump, but this girl might send him over the edge sooner than he thought.

Jo was moaning and gasping, her claws digging into the leather of the seat as she felt his hips and body pressing her into the foam and spring supports. “Oh yes! Oh GAWD YES! Mmm… ya feel s’good Chris! Don’t… Ohhh LORDY! DON’T STOP,” the vixen screamed out in pleaser as her tunnel quivered around the tod’s length.

Chris was right, she did make him fall off the cliff sooner than he thought, but she was the first to orgasm. The fox easily felt that already tight passage collapse around him, gripping him firmly as her juices flowed over his member to soak into his pubic fur. The milking sensation was so great that he came, his seed flowing freely from his member in thick long spurts. She’d certainly kept him pent up for long enough, but hot damn it had been worth the wait.

Chris gave Jo every drop he had in him as he coated her depths with a nice fresh coat of white paint. The pure ecstasy of getting to bed her took a great deal out of the tod, so much so that all he could do was press his full weight down onto the vixen, pinning her to the seat.

It felt like an eternity before Chris finally pulled out, rolling over onto his side to slip his pants back up. Jo could barely move, her chest pressed into the backseat as she panted. “God… Chris… that’s… that’s the best thang err,” she moaned out softly, in such a daze and her loins so coated in fluid that she didn’t even realized that some of his seed was leaking out of her.

“Yeah,” was the tod’s only reply as he leaned back against the seat for a second to catch his breath, “It sure was. You should probably get dressed.”

Jo nodded back as she slowly reached down to her ankles, pulling her panties and her jeans up her long legs before buttoning up her shirt.


	4. Truth

Jo rarely forgot that night. She kept trying to get Chris to come over and let her feel him inside her again, but the fox seemed distant and aloof. It was a bit odd until Jo started to realize that he’d only been interested in her for that one reason. Part of her was resentful, especially since he was one of the few foxes on campus, but another part of her knew that something like this could happen. She’d seen it happen in high school, especially with jocks. “That’s wut he is,” Jo muttered to herself, “jist a big, dumb ol jock. And I wuz just his one nighter.” She was just going to have to live with the fact her first was an ass, something she resigned herself to fairly easily.

The next week, Jo was uncomfortable. The vixen seemed to twitch all the time in class, her hands constantly moving to adjust her bra, but each time she did, she just felt more uncomfortable. In truth, her breasts ached, her back ached, everything ached. She didn’t seem to enjoy the foods she used to like at all. She felt bloated most of the time and every so often, she’d get cramps. Plus she kept waking up late for her morning classes and once she got there, she kept getting up all the time to urinate, missing parts of the lecture.

Out of everything that hurt and generally annoyed the vixen, Jo’s nipples were the worst. They’d become especially tender to the slightest touch to the point she could barely take a shower. Her tender nipples were only exacerbated by how tight her bra’s felt, so much so she had to go out and buy new ones.

Part of Jo wondered if she was pregnant, but that couldn’t have been true. Chris had worn a condom. He’d told her he had. Her worries were put aside some when she had found she’d bled a little. It was a good sign at least, so she brushed off any ideas about her pregnancy. That was until she visited her OBGYN.

 

Doctor Barry Brown was a kind old dog. Like his last name implied, he was a brown lab and that was basically his only color outside of the slowly encroaching white on his muzzle from age. He rather enjoyed his line of work, and most of his patients enjoyed being around him. It probably helped too that the old dog wasn’t attracted to women at all, so it made his line of work much easier.

Barry smiled as he made his way into the examination room, his eyes looking at the vixen in front of him as he looked over her chart. The doctor over in Bunnyburrow had been gracious enough to fax over her files, so he had a good starting point. “Hello, Miss Grey, I’m Doctor Brown,” the lab had said as he slipped between her legs to examine her.

“Has anything changed since your last exam,” he asked as he started to investigate. Jo let out a sigh, “Well… I did have… relations with a feller about a few weeks ago. Since then, I been all uncomfy. My boobs hurt. My nipples hurt. I keep wakin’ up late fer class, and I jist feel so achy all the time.”

The doctor felt his ears go back, “Well. I can see why. Miss Grey, you’re a month pregnant.”

“WHAT!”

“You’re pregnant, Miss Grey, and from the look of things, you’ve been so for a month.”

Jo shook her head, “That… that cain’t be true! I had my period!”

Doctor Brown slowly looked up at her. “Miss Grey, I’m sorry to tell you this, but what you found was bleeding from implantation, not your period.”

The vixen started to shudder, her eyes tearing up, “But… But I cain’t get pregnant, Doctor. I’m th’first one in m’famly to go to college. I jist… I jist cain’t!”

Slowly, the old lab slid out from between Jo’s legs, sliding the rolling stool around so he could sit next to her. “Miss Grey. You are early enough along that you might want to consider having an abortion if you want to continue to go to college.”

Jo blinked a few times at his sentence, but especially when he said, “abortion.” The option hadn’t occurred to her yet. She could get one and it would be like this never happened. But it did happen, and she could never erase that, whether she had the kit or had the abortion. She would of course have to tell her family about it at some point, whether it was years down the road or when she showed up during summer break holding a kit in her arms.

Jo let out a long sighing whimper as she started to think about every option she had. “Lemme… lemme think on it, doc.”

 

After the appointment, Jo had a lot to consider, but the first thing she needed to do was make sure Chris knew what he’d done. She’d found him in the cafeteria again, talking to a wolf girl. “Course he’s doin’ that,” she growled as the vixen made her way behind him to tap on his shoulder.

Chris was just about to get that wolf bitch to meet him in the dorms when he felt a clawed finger tap him twice. Slowly, he turned around, eyes opening in surprise. “Oh… hey Jo,” he started to say in surprise while trying to keep his tone casual.

“Don’tcha ‘hey Jo’ me ya egg-suckin’ dawg,” the vixen snarled at him. Mood swings were a sign of pregnancy, but this was no mood swing, she was out for blood.

“Who the hell are you,” the wolf woman asked, as she gave Chris her own snarl. The tod tried to take command of the situation, but Jo cut him off, “This no-legged dog sweettalked me, and knocked me up!”

Unfortunately for Chris, the vixen had yelled it in the cafeteria, so every eye in the room was on him. The wolf who was sitting beside him gave the tod a snort before sliding away. The fox started to growl as people began to whisper amongst themselves. “Then abort the little fuck and move on,” he said before turning back around.

Jo’s eyes went wide for a brief second before her strong hand reached out to grip him by the nape, digging her claws into his fur and flesh. “You dun sewed yer oats in me, and you gots to reap whatcha sew,” the vixen snarled back at him.

“I’m not marrying some redneck country bumpkin,” Chris roared back as he used one strong hand to knock hers off his neck, spinning around in the process.

Everyone in the cafeteria stared at the two snarling foxes, some of them whispering about how they may have gone savage. “Like hell ya’rn’t. You made yer bed, and you gots t’sleep in it,” Jo roared back, her claws extending.

Chris just smirked, “Go on, bitch. Hit me. Scratch me up real good in front of ALL these people. You’ll get booted out of here, and my father will sue you and your Podunk little farmer family for all they’re worth.”

Jo’s nostrils flared over and over again as she glared at Chris. They stared at one another for a few seconds before she pulled her claws back in. “One day, Chris Rowan, yer gonna reap whatcha sew. And don’t be ‘sprised if I spit on yer grave,” the vixen said one last time before storming off.

That was the last time she ever saw Chris Rowan, but it was also the last time Chris Rowan managed to get laid at the University.

 


	5. Options

Jo didn’t abort the child, even though she’d thought about it many times over the remaining trimesters. It didn’t help that being pregnant hurt her attendance during her Freshman year, but she had been able to get and hold a 3.0 Grade Point Average, mostly because of her papers. The more the months ticked away, the more her pregnancy showed, but the more determined she was to at least finish her Freshman year.   
The whole ordeal had been rough on the vixen, and even more so on her parents who rarely heard from Jo at all. She’d talk to them on the phone every few days, but she never sent home any new photos, which made them a bit curious about what was going on. It confused them even more that she didn’t come to visit on holidays or breaks. The more Jo was silent, the more everyone worried. They’d thought about heading to the big city to see their little girl, but they couldn’t get much in the way of farm help.  
The semester finally ended in mid-May, something that Jo had been extremely grateful for. With college done for the time being, she could at least focus on what to do next. She’d started to think about names for the kit brewing inside her when she received a call from the registrar’s office. It was a bit strange, especially considering it was from her counselor. The vixen figured that she wouldn’t hear from them at least until August when classes started again, but she went along with it.  
The woman behind the desk was tall and skinny, but that was to be expected from an antelope, though Jo didn’t really know which of the various antelope subspecies she was. “Miss Grey,” the woman said as she leaned over her desk, “I realize that you have been placed into a very awkward situation, and I hate to burden you further. But many of the staff have noticed your condition and are wondering what your plan is if you wish to continue to attend Z.U.”  
The vixen just looked down, “I… I hadn’t really done much considerin’. I’ve jist wanted t’finish the year.”  
The antelope nodded her head, “I understand, but the University doesn’t offer any family housing, and children aren’t allowed in the dorms. You’d also be away from the child for long periods of time, and we don’t offer any day care services.”  
Jo started to sniffle. The sniffle turned into a pout. The pout turned into sobbing. “I… I don’t know what to do! I cain’t afford a house, er a nanny, but I cain’t send him back home t’my parents! I’d die of shame,” the vixen started to openly wail as her hands moved to rest on her cheeks, “I cain’t quit college! I jist cain’t! I’m th’only Grey to ever go t’college. But I cain’t let my kit grow up without a mama or a daddy.”  
The antelope woman slowly slid out of her desk, moving around to grab some tissue paper. She handed it to Jo as a hand moved to her shoulder. “I understand, Miss Grey, but there are other options,” the woman said, “you could put your child up for adoption.”  
The vixen looked up at her with blood shot eyes as tears kept flowing, “Adoption?” The antelope nodded, “Yes. There are lots of couples who can’t have children that are looking to adopt. I could put you in touch with one of them if you like.”  
Jo just nodded her head, “Please.”


	6. Facing the Music

Jo let out a sigh as she looked through the numerous couples looking to adopt. Most of them wanted sheep, or bunnies, or kittens, or other domestics, but none of them seemed to want fox kits. The more she searched through the profiles, the more she became disheartened. The vixen’s hand gently rubbed over her swollen belly, “I’ll find ya a mama and a papa, Kody. Don’t you worry.”

She’d found out not long after the meeting that she was pregnant with a boy. She’d started to call him Kody from that day forwards. It felt odd to name a child that she was going to give up, but it was the only way she could really keep from going crazy.

May and June passed by with very little in the way of prospects for her yet to be born child, and the more she thought about it, the more she was open to the idea of coming clean to her parent and sending Kody to live with them. At least he would be with his own blood kin. When the second day in July rolled around, she knew there was no going back, she was just going to have to quit college and go home with her son.

It was mid-August when Amos and Betsy Grey sat on a bench at Bunnyburrow Station, the mated pair of foxes wondering what the wonderful surprise their daughter had mentioned in her letter. They both were holding out hope that she was bringing home a boyfriend, though, they were wondering why she wasn’t coming home until a few days before the new semester started.

“Ya thank sh’gots her one dem rich sitty boiz,” Betsy asked as she looked over at her husband. “Wail, Ahm show she dun nabbed herself a nice sitty tod. She gots yer looks ‘n mah brains. Ah bets them sitty tods wuz lahnin’ up t’be her sweetie,” Amos replied as he looked over at his lovely wife.

Betsy looked like an older, motherly version of her daughter, Josephine, though Betsy was a much darker red-yellow than her daughter. Amos on the other hand was a nice dark red, almost a red tented chocolate color. Unlike some of the other members of his family, Amos had almost gone to college at Zootopia Agriculture and Medicine but he’d ended up marrying his sweetheart, Betsy, and settling down on the family farm instead.

The two held each other’s hands as Amos slipped a corncob pipe between his lips before lighting a match. He took a few puff of tobacco as he leaned into the bench. “Wutever ah lil girl’s s’prize’s, it’ll be wondaful,” the old tod said between puffs of smoke. He’d just started to relax on the bench when the Zootopia Express pulled into the station, “Speekadadevl ‘n he sh’ll’peer.”

The two foxes watched anxiously as the train’s doors opened and their little girl stepped out. There little  girl plus one baby. It took a few moments for the whole thing to sink in. Jo had come home because she’d had a baby. The still lovely looking vixen put one foot in front of the other as she stepped off the train and onto the station, carrying her month old kit in one arm, a backpack over her shoulder, and two heavy bags in the other hand.

“Hi ma. Hi pa,” Jo said sheepishly as her parents slowly started to make their way to her. She wasn’t sure what to tell them, her mind racing to figure out what to say, but the only thing she could come up with was, “This ‘ere’s yer grandkit, Kody.”

The month old kit was fast asleep, his blanket completely wrapped around his body, but Betsy and Amos were at a complete loss for words. They looked at the kit, then up to their daughter, then back to the kit again. Betsy just looked back at her daughter again, “War’s is daddy?”

Jo’s ears flattened and Betsy pulled back a little. She hadn’t exactly expected that reaction, but her daughter scowled, “Yeller bellied cowerd wudn’t face th’music ‘n help m’take care of ‘im.”

Amos blinked, “He dun left ya wid’s kit? Immagonna skin that boy ‘live.”

The vixen looked at her father, “Daddy. Don’t. I’lready tried. He said ‘is daddy’ll sue ‘n try t’take the farm. H’ain’t werth th’seed that made’m.”

Betsy looked at her daughter, “S’wutcha gone do now, baby girl?”

Jo just sighed as she looked at her son, “Raise m’little boy.”

“Y’ain’t gonna g’back to college,” her father asked as he looked between his daughter and his grandson.

“No, pa,” the vixen shook her head, “Not fer a while yet. Th’University says I c’n cum back when’er I wants ta. But I’z got more ‘portant things now.”

“Like yer lil boy,” Betsy said as she looked at her grand kit.

“Like Kody.”

“Yagonna find’m a pa,” her father asked.

“Course I am, daddy. Y’know wur thar’s any tods?”


	7. Wolfsberg

Unfortunately for Jo, Bunnyburrow’s tod population consisted of her father, her brother, her sister-in-law’s father, her son, and her brother’s son. Three of the candidates were blood kin, and making kits with blood kin always lead to trouble, so they were immediately eliminated. The only remaining two were kits, which would have been illegal, not to mention sick and twisted especially since they were also blood kin. Jo’s only real option was to start looking elsewhere.

Her first thought was heading over to Mammoth River. At one time, it had been a quiet little farming town with a small state college, that was until the government built an air base there eighty years ago after the last war. The air base brought more people, which made Mammoth River from a podunk town into an podunk city of just around fifty thousand. There had to be some tods there looking for vixens.

She was both correct and incorrect at the same time. She’d driven several times up to Mammoth River, but each time she noticed two things; there weren’t many foxes, there were even fewer tods, and they came in only two varieties; happily married or single just out of High Schoolers. The latter wasn’t a bad option, but she also remembered learning about how much a brand new Airmammal made. She’d heard Stu Hopps complain about it after he’d been visited by a recruiter. It wasn’t much at all, just enough to afford a steady diet of cold ramen.

There were other places though.  Wolfsberg and Todsglen were over in Sherwood County. There were also Rabbiton and Hareham in the rest of Tri-Burrows County. She could also go back to Zootopia to look, though, she was still gun shy about the last time. Flipping a coin in the air she decided to try her luck in Wolfsberg.

Wolfsberg wasn’t that different from Bunnyburrow at all, Jo noticed as she drove her father’s rough, beat up old farm truck down First Street. There were farms all over the place, though they were more antebellum than anything she’d seen before. Over all, the town was quaint, a place where Jo could easily picture herself living, if she actually found anyone there.

The town proper was full of old buildings, mostly built in the Victorian-style, though the yards were filled with gigantic willows trees. The most shocking thing to Jo though, was the population. As she’d figured, it was predominantly wolves, hence the name, but there were also a large number of foxes. A warm smile crossed her face as she pulled the old pickup into one of the street side parking spaces in front of a mom-n-pop restaurant. She had a feeling she might run into someone here.

Slowly, Jo reached over and picked up the combination car seat and bassinet that held her sleeping kit. Kody was sound asleep, a pacifier between his lips, gently suckling upon it as he slept. The vixen couldn’t help but smile as she picked up the plastic contraption by the handle and slowly slipped out of the truck.

To say Jo didn’t get a lot of looks would be an understatement. Between her curves and the bassinet she was holding, a few single males stopped to give her a once over. She even got a good once over from a stocky high school aged wolf. The vixen had to admit that he did look handsome. He was tall and muscular, a relative hunk as he filled out his letterman jacket, though he was a good four years younger.

The vixen let out a soft sigh as she slowly slipped into a booth and ordered something to eat for herself before peeking into the bassinet. Her cherry red furred boy was still sound asleep. He looked so adorable that a few of the waitresses and patrons couldn’t help but notice. Part of her was happy that he’d somehow managed to stay asleep during the car ride over and during her lunch, though that abruptly ended when he woke up. The little tod whined and screamed for his own lunch, which upset a few of the patrons there.

Jo lifted her little kit out of his bassinet and held him tightly against her chest. She usually breast fed him when they were at home, but she couldn’t do that in public. Luckily, she’d remembered to bring a bottle of formula with her. Kody’s lips wrapped hungrily around the rubberized plastic nipple, tiny paws gripping and groping at the bottle as he guzzled down his lunch until he was full and went back to sleep.

His mother couldn’t help but give him a soft kiss on the top of his head as he began to fall back into slumber. The vixen placed him back into the bassinet and pulled his blanket over him.

Just like in Mammoth River, she hadn’t found anyone, well, anyone legal at least. So after paying for her meal, she picked up the bassinet and headed back to the truck. On the drive, Jo contemplated her options, she even considered calling Chris or his father, but tossed that aside. Chris had his chance and blew it, and she wasn’t about to find out if the rest of his family was like him.


	8. Why are Foxes red?

Kody Samson Grey held onto his mother’s paw tightly as the two walked down the street. The kit was four years old now and growing like a weed. He was only a few months younger than his cousin, Gideon, but something about Chris’ genes made him bigger than his cousin. He wasn’t chubbier, he was just taller by nearly half a foot.

Oddly enough, because of his size, he was usually teased by the other children, which caused the kit to cling to his mother’s side like a barnacle to a whale or a shipping vessel. It was a bit cute, though, it also really didn’t help his mother a great deal. The fox found it a bit odd that her son, as well as her nephew, would get teased about his size, especially since the majority of the town was made up of bunnies, all of whom would never be the same height as him in their entire lifetimes. Children were just strange, if not mean at times.

The twenty two year old vixen was still living with her parents, as was her brother and his family. The skull of foxes all worked together to keep the family farm going. The only problem was that few of the other families around were interested in helping foxes. They were friendly with one another. They went to school and church together, but other than that, the mingling of the species was forced. Prey stuck with Prey and Preds stuck with Preds.

As the mother-son pair walked down the street, the two passed by the War Veteran’s Post. Slowly, Jo stopped to look down at her kit. He was looking up at her with confusion in his eyes. “Mama? Why’d we stop,” he asked curiously as his mother slowly bent down to pick him up. The vixen couldn’t help but notice how much heavier her son was getting as her arm slid under his rump.

“Y’ll see in a minnit, sugar fox,” she cooed softly as she slowly opened the door.

 

A rush of cigarette smoke washed out to greet them. The room was full of old mammals, their faces wrinkled as they went from one cigarette to the next, not even paying anyone any mind. Jo snorted as she slowly sauntered over to a bunch of photos on the wall. “I wanted to show you your great grandsires,” Jo said as she pointed to a clutch of photographs. There were four tods lined up in a row, all of them smiling for their War Department photo. Each one of them was dressed in a military uniform. Three of them were in what looked like business suits but with stronger lines with crossed muskets on the collars, and one was dressed like the boy on the Cracker Jack’s box in a sailor’s uniform.

“Who’s that, mama,” her tod asked as his eyes danced over the photos. The vixen smiled, “Those are your great grandsires, sweetheart. Well, only one of them is, the rest were his brothers.”

She pointed at one of them before her finger started to move from left to right, “That would be your great great-uncle Gideon, that’s your great great-uncle Joshua, that’s your great great-uncle Earle, and that’s your great grandsire David.”

Kody’s eyes followed his mother’s finger, listening intently to what she said. “Mama?”

“Yes, sugar fox?”

“How come I ain’t never seen them before? Is they hidin’?”

Jo gently shook her head, “No, baby. Gideon, Joshua, and Earle never came home from the war.”

“Mama? What’s war?”

The vixen sighed, “It’s when people get into a big ol’ fight with one’nother over summin’. There was one between us and something they calls apes. Gideon, Joshua, and Earle all joined the Army t’gether, but yer grandsire wuddn’t old’nough. He waited a year ‘n’then joined th’Navy.”

“What happened, mama?”

She stared at the plaques under the photos. All three of Jo’s great uncles died in the same year. On the same day. In the same operation. David had been there too, but he’d been out at sea helping shell the enemy positions. She wasn’t sure what to tell her son, but someone spoke up.

“Theys fought like theys possessed by th’devil,” an old brown rabbit said, a pair of thick glasses on his face. “Ah wuz there! Wez got pinned by them hairless monkies, ‘n them three tods went loco. Theys crawl’d round back’uh dem ‘n blew dat mer-sheen g’n nest t’kingd’m cum! Theys never cum back dough.”

The little kit still looked confused so he did what any young child did. He asked, “Why?”

“Dem monkies dun shots’m’s why.”

Kody’s head tilted as his mother held him tight. He didn’t really understand what the old hare was telling him, but the rabbit kept going, “But dey tooks all dem apes widdem dough. Dem tree all gots med’ls fer dat. Jist’shame dey didn’ gets pinned on dough.”

Jo nodded softly. She knew the old rabbit, or at least knew of him. That was Mary-Ann and Bonnie’s grandbuck, Samuel Springer. Slowly, her eyes moved to the one sitting next to him. The silvery pelted rabbit was scowling a little as he eyed the cherry red tod in the vixen’s arms. She knew him too. That was Hank Hopps.

Jo never liked Hank, nor did she particularly care for Hank’s son, Otto. Those two were from a different era entirely, though, the vixen wasn’t exactly sure which exact one it was, but certainly one from the Mid-Roman Empire. She’d heard about how the two had been vehemently against de-segregation of the local school back in the 1960s. Prior to that, Preds and Prey went to their own separate but equal centers of learning.

Hank adjusted his glasses. “Dats wun red tod ya gots der, Jo-sef-een,” he said as he leaned in to get a closer look while he sat at his table. The vixen’s tail flicked around as her son held onto his mother’s neck. “Y’ain’t been sleepin’ wit da devil has ya?”

Jo scowled. Samuel scowled. Kody looked confused.

“Wut d’hell’s wrong witcha, Hank,” Samuel said as he turned to look at the old rabbit, “Dat’s Gideon, Josh, n‘ Earle’s grankit!”

“Foxes is red cuz dey dun ben made bah d’devil! N’ dat wun looks like he’s d’devil’s own boy!”

“Yew iz a damn fool! Gideon, Josh, n’ Earle shudda let dem monkies kill yew ya ‘ngratef’l basserd!”

The two buck rabbits looked at each other, completely forgetting about Jo and Kody as the two old hares began to argue. The vixen decided it was better for her to not get involved, but to see her and her son out the door.

The vixen snorted as she held onto her little boy. The kit let out a sniffling, “Mama.”

“Yes, sugar fox?”

Kody was on the verge of crying, “Was my daddy th’devil?”

Slowly, Jo put her son down onto the pavement and knelt before him. One finger moved to gently wipe away a small tear that was forming. “Yer daddy was a lot a things, shoog, but he weren’t the devil.”

“But that bunny said,” the kit started to say, but his mother interrupted him, “That bunny don’t know what he’s talking about. He’s just old and confused is all.”

Her son sniffled, “Is he right? Is we red cause foxes were made by the devil, mama?”

Jo wrapped her arms around her son and pulled him in tight. “No, baby. We ain’t red because we were made by the devil. We’re red because we’re sweet like apples.”

“Really?”

Jo smiled warmly. It was a lie. Foxes had their own stories about why they were red, most of which revolved around fire, but that wasn’t going to help and only fueled those old beliefs that Hank and Otto shared. “Yes, sugar fox. Really,” she said as she kissed his cheek.


	9. Hubert Hemming

Hubert Hemming smiled as he drove his father’s old truck down the streets of Bunnyburrow. His father had given him that truck since he needed wheels and his two older brother, Will and Bart, had decided to head to the big city for college. Hubert wasn’t the brightest wolf around, but he was fairly quick at learning various manual tasks, something that had always come in handy.

What the nineteen year old made up in brains was more than compensated for elsewhere on his body. His biceps were massive as was his chest. He could easily lift two full bales of hay and carry then one hundred yards without breaking a sweat. His entire body was muscle that came from the farm and all his days in high school working out with the football team.

Right now, though, Hubert was in Bunnyburrow to find work to tide him over till the next season. Most of the farms in Wolfsberg were still rotating their crops to re-energize the soil, so the wolf was basically out of work until the season started up again. He could have stayed with his parents, but the two alpha wolves wanted him to get out of the farmhouse for a bit, though, they didn’t want him wandering too far away.

Bunnyburrow was just far enough away though, just a little over a two hour drive, which meant he could come home if needed at any time. His father, George, had put out a small add in the papers for his son, though only one had contacted him. It was a farm full of foxes, but they needed extra help, so George had sent his youngest over, much to the objections of Hubert’s mother. Evie was a bit protective of her son, almost to the point of meddling, but Hubert didn’t mind at all. He loved his mother, but that probably came from being a runt.

The wolf looked at the map his father had drawn for him. It was simple enough to read, which Hubert was grateful for. He didn’t like being told directions, mostly because he’d always forget, but directions using pictures always helped. The canine followed the highlighted line on the map down Main Street until it ended at the highway before turning onto the road.

“This place sure is purdy,” he mumbled to himself as rows and rows of produce passed by him on both sides, “Nots as purdy as Wolf-berg, but it’s purdy.”

Thirty minutes later, he saw a faded little black mailbox by the side of the road with the name Grey painted on it in thick white letters. “This must be the place,” the wolf mused as he slowly turned onto the dirt driveway.

A small two story house came into view. It wasn’t as nice as the plantation style farm house he lived in in Wolfsberg, but it looked nice. The wood siding was a healthy shade of white that looked like it had just been painted. The black roof looked brand new. The grass on the lawn was a little long, but no one seemed to mind, especially the two tod kits that were running around kicking a soccer ball and laughing happily.

The two foxes stopped their play, both of them staring at the beat up old truck as the wolf inside turned off the engine. An old greying vixen wandered out of the house followed quickly by an equally greying tod. The pair wandered down the porch steps to make their way towards Hubert as the canine slid out of the driver’s seat.

The tod shoved his hand out towards the wolf, “Ya must’b’Hew-burt.”

“Yessir, I is,” the younger male said with a smile as he shook the fox’s hand. Amos’ was not ready for the pure strength of the wolf. The old tod was practically lifted off his feet from the handshake, his arm flopping around as he felt his hand being crushed.

Hubert shook the tod’s hand three or four times before letting go, the fox yanking his throbbing mitt back to check for any broken bones. “Yew iz a strong’n.”

“I sure is, sir.”

The vulpine nodded as he seemed relieved to know that his hand hadn’t been crushed and his arm was still in its socket. “Good. I needs a strong’n likes yew. Wez gots lots uh bails uh hay that needs movin’, course theys also lots more heavy stuffs too.”

Hubert just nodded as the vixen began to slip in beside her husband. “Yer pa tolds us all boutcha. I’z Amos, n’ dis’ere’s m’wife, Betsy.”

The massive wolf nodded, “Sure is nice t’meets ya.”

The two foxes smiled before turning around, leading the wolf towards the house as the two kits looked at one another and then began to follow them back inside the farmhouse.

 

Kody and Gideon had never seen a wolf up close before, so the two were curious. Sure they’d seen a few passing through town, and there was that crazy old wolf who lived off Cabbage Road, but everyone, especially the children, avoided him because, well, he was crazy. The two tod kits looked at one another then up at Hubert.

“H’sure iz tall,” Gideon whispered over at his cousin, “Ya think we’z  gonna be that tall?”

Kody shook his head, “Naw. Wolves is always tall.”

“Really?”

“I guess s’,” the cherry red kit said, though, he wasn’t really sure. He’d never seen a wolf next to a fox  before, and whoever this guy was, he was a good two heads length above Grandpa Amos, almost two and a half above Grandma Betsy, and that didn’t include the ears.

Hubert felt eyes on him as he made his way into the living room, but there were only him, Amos, and Betsy there, or least that’s what he thought until he turned his head to look down at the two kits standing right behind him. The wolf slowly turned around to stare down at them, inadvertently giving the two boys a big toothy grin. “Well hello thar,” he started to say, but the two tods fluffed up and bolted, their fur standing on end.

“Wud I do,” Hubert asked to no one in particular, a mask of confusion on his face as he watched the two kits bolt around the corner. Amos shook his head as the old tod moved in behind the wolf, “Theys ain’t never seen no wolf b’fore cept crazy old Garth. He ain’t been right in th’ed since he got in dat fight widda mule.”

Hubert slowly nodded his head as he turned back around, a little disheartened at the fact the boys were frightened of him. “Oh,” the wolf said softly before looking down at the elder male. The greying tod nodded as he started to lead the young canine towards the dining room.

“Is it jist you ‘n Betsy,” Hubert inquired as he slowly sat down in an old wooden chair. Amos shook his head, “Naw. My boy’n ‘is wife lives here. S’does m’daughter. Ya met my two gran’kits just now. They lives here too.”

The canine slowly nodded as Betsy put a nice tall glass of lemonade in front of him and her husband before grabbing her own glass and slipping into a chair. “They’s out getting yer place all nice’n comfy fer ya,” the old vixen said before taking a sip. Her husband nodded, “Wez don’t gots no guest house n’more. Durn thing got hits by lit’nin ‘n burnt t’tha groun bout six year ago. S’ it’s crowded in ‘ere. But d’barn’s gots ‘nough space in d’loft that they’s turnin’ it int’n ‘partment fo ya.”

Hubert smiled as he took a long swig of lemonade, “That’s real kind uh ya.”

“Yer welcome. Ya knows how long y’ll b’stayin’?”

Hubert shrugged his shoulders, “Til th’season’s over I guess. Or til ma’n’pa need me home.”

Amos and Betsy both nodded before the tod spoke, “Well, dat’s what… tree’r fo months way? Iz sure y’ll ‘njoy ye’self. If ya likes fishin’ er swimmin’ der’s a lake bout fo mile way. If yas find yerself wit nuttin’ t’do, dat a wunnerful spot.”

“I loves swimmin’,” the wolf replied with a big, toothy grin. The two foxes smiled as Amos continued, “Well, if’n ya fin yerself wit nuddin’ t’do, dat’s a good place t’go. I knows my Jo-sef-een, sure do loves dat der lake.”

The wolf couldn’t help but blush as he heard the name. “Dat’s a purdy name,” he said goofily as his tail started to flop around behind him. The old tod let out a chuckle, “She’z a purdy gal.”

Hubert blushed, “Is she hitched?”

Betsy cocked an eyebrow, as did her husband. “Naw, she ain’t hitched,” he replied, “But doncha be getting no eye-dee-ers now.”

The canine nodded his head up and down, “Yessir. My brudder Willy said I ain’ts never had an eye-dee-er in my whole life.”

The husband-wife pair looked between one another then shrugged their shoulders, not really sure what Hubert meant by that. The wolf seemed harmless at least, so it wasn’t like they felt an inherent urge to worry.


	10. When Hubert Met Jo

Jo looked around the room at her, Joshua, and Jeane’s handiwork, though her sister-in-law and brother weren’t there. The vixen was dressed simply in a pair of overalls and a red plaid long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The two vixens and one tod had moved the old furniture from an even older barn that was stuffed to the gills with ancient things; furniture, books, and the three were pretty sure they’d seen two Ford Model 48s, one that was a truck and one that was a convertible.

The two vixens had to keep Joshua from starting on a new project. They needed to mover furniture. Besides, he already had an old 1957 Chevy Truck in the barn they were converting into an apartment. The last thing he needed was something new to continually forget about fixing.

It took a few hours to move a bed, a nightstand, a small rug, two lamps, a desk, a wardrobe, and a chair up into the barn’s loft before arranging it all in just the right spot. Once that had been done, Jo had offered to make the beds to let Joshua and Jeane grab some lunch. The yellowish-red vixen didn’t mind, mostly because she was curious to see who this Hubert Hemming was.

She had just put on the comforter and pillows when she heard someone enter the barn. Slowly, Jo sauntered over to the edge of the upper loft and peered down. Her parents were there and a very familiar looking wolf. The vixen blinked a few times as she stared at Hubert. She remembered him from somewhere, but she couldn’t place exactly where. Something about the silver and white letterman jacket with a big white W nagged at her memory. She’d just about given up trying to place him when it hit her.

They’d given each over a once over when she’d gone to Wolfsberg four years ago. He’d stuck out in her mind the most, probably because of just how muscular and handsome he’d been. A slow smile cracked across her lips. It was four years later, meaning that the High School age wolf was no longer High School age. Slowly, the vixen pulled away from the edge of the loft, heading right for the stairs.

 

“Don’tcha mind t’much in ‘ere. My boys gots his prah-jikts, but he don’t works on’em much n’more since it’s the season,” Amos said as Hubert looked around the barn. A beat up old tractor was front and center with some attachments sitting right next to it. The nice thing about this place was that it had two sets of double doors, meaning things could be brought both in and out, even if one of the sets of doors was blocked. Behind the tractor was an old truck, or at least what had been an old truck. It had been thoroughly taken apart right down to the chassis.

“Gits prudy quiet ‘n yere, s’ya c’n  gets lots uh rest,” the old tod continued as he, Hubert, and his wife made their way towards a staircase set in the back of the barn. The wolf just kept nodding as he took in the sight. There were lots of tools strewn about, a few old boxes here and there, not to mention a layer of dust that coated a few shelves that lined the barn’s walls.

The wolf thought it would be a nice place to spend the summer, and he was just about to say so when he spotted Josephine sauntering down the stairs. The young wolf started to smile a goofy grin as his tail flicked and flopped around behind him. The reddish-yellow vixen in front of him blushed and giggled as she slowly started to make her way towards him.

Amos and Betsy looked at each other, then over to Jo, then over to Hubert. They did that a few times before Amos asked, “Is I missin’ summin’?”

Hubert let out an a-hyuck, “Yer jist as purdy as th’day I first seen yew.”

The vixen giggled as she looked over at her father, “We’z seen one’n’nother b’fore, but we ain’t never been inter-duced.”

Her father tilted his head, “When?”

“Bout four years’go when Iz went down t’Wolfsberg,” Jo replied before pushing out one hand towards Hubert, “I’m Josephine.”

“Jo-sef-een,” the wolf chirped sweetly as he took her hand, “Yous gots a purdy name.”

“Thank ya, shoog. What’s yer name?”

“Hubert.”

The vixen smiled, “It’s nice t’finally meets ya, Hubert.”

“Yer so purdy,” the canine giggled as his tail seemed to wag faster and faster. Jo’s father coughed, “I hates t’ break yaz up, but Hew-burt needs t’see ‘is room.”

His daughter nodded as she gently let go of Hubert’s hand. “I’ll sees ya at dinner, Hubert?”

The wolf’s head moved up and down in quick succession, almost making him look like a bobble head doll, something that made Jo giggle more. “Don’t be late.”

Betsy and Amos watched as their daughter departed. “I’m gonna go talk t’ Jo,” the elder vixen said as she slowly departed her husband and their new farm hand. Amos looked up at Hubert, “I thinks she likes ya.”

“I loves her,” Hubert replied in a dreamy tone that raised Amos’ eyebrows. He wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of a wolf courting his daughter.

Betsy slowly wandered up next to her daughter, her brown ears flicking about. “Y’ain’t thinkin’bout datin’ that thar wolf, is ya,” the other vixen asked as she slid in beside Josephine. The younger female just shrugged her shoulder as she looked over to gaze at her mother, “Iz thought about it a few times.”

Her mother’s ears flicked around on the top of her head, “Ya knows wolves is trouble. We foxes has never got’long with dem wolves, and dey don’t get’long wid us needer.”

“Mama, that was ‘long time’go. Things’ different now,” Jo replied as the two women made their way into the farmhouse. Betsy chuffed, “I know things’ diff’rnt, but it don’ts mean he cain’t hurtcha.”

The daughter shook her head as she looked at her mother, “Y’ain’t gonna stop me fr’m datin’im, mama.”

Betsy chewed on the side of her lip. Jo was right. She couldn’t exactly stop her from dating Hubert. She could try to say, “Iz yer mudder’n I forbids it,” but the vixen wasn’t twelve anymore, so that line of logic wouldn’t work. Her husband might try it on her, but again, he would just end up sounding silly. “All right,” the elder fox said with a long sigh as they made their way into the kitchen through a side door, “Jist help me gets dinner ready.”

“Whatter we havin, mama,” Jo said with an air of curiosity. Her mother just shrugged her shoulders as she pulled open the oven to reveal four chickens roasting. The vixen let out a soft chuckle. It was always chicken, duck, or turkey.


	11. Dinner

To say dinner was a bit awkward would have been the understatement of the Twentieth Century. The seven foxes and one wolf were gathered around the dinner table as food was passed around, though, due to Hubert’s size, the already tight dining room table seemed even more cramped somehow. Jo had of course insisted that she sit next to the gigantic canine. Her mother and father had attempted to put a buffer between them, namely Kody, but the kit outright refused because he was scared, so they put Joshua next to Hubert, but not in between Jo and Hubert.

Amos was sitting next to Gideon, who was sitting next to his mother, Jeane, who in turn sat beside her husband Joshua, who sat next to Hubert, who was greatly enjoying sitting beside Jo, while Kody was placed between his mother and grandmother. The two youngest vulpines at the table usually sat next to one another, so the new seating arrangement was certainly different.

Kody wasn’t exactly sure what to make of the wolf who was sitting next to his mother. For some reason, she really liked him, something that confused the little kit. He barely touched his food at all, but stared between his mother and grandmother as everyone at the table noticed how well Jo and Hubert were getting along.

Under the table, the wolf and vixen were playing a small game of footsies, gently brushing their feet against each other as their tails lightly began to brush over one another. Amos wasn’t exactly thrilled to see his daughter being so cordial with the canine who was around four years younger than her, then again, part of him was slightly happy that she still had some interest in the opposite gender. Betsy on the other hand couldn’t help but lean back in her chair and eye the tail play going on between the two, her nostrils letting out a small snort before returning to eating.

For the most part, the dinner was completely silent, save for Amos asking a few mundane questions to Hubert, mostly along the lines of what he farmed back home and what Wolfsberg was like. Unfortunately for everyone, Kody’s four year old mind got ahead of himself. The tod kit leaned over his plate to stare directly at the wolf. “Is you my daddy,” the boy asked with the complete curiosity and bluntness of his age.

Hubert wasn’t exactly sure how to answer the question at all. Jo was in a small state of shock, as was everyone else at the table, save for his grandmother who let out a growling, “KODY SAMSON GREY!”

The kit’s ears flattened against his head as his eyes began to tear up. He was both confused and sad at the same time, mostly because he didn’t know what he’d done wrong to deserve his grandmother’s raised voice. The little tod didn’t wait around to find out. Teary eyed, he pushed his chair back and darted from the living room, tears running down his face as he bolted right for the room he shared with his cousin, Gideon, not even asking to be excused at all.

Jo gave her mother an astounded look that slowly formed into a bit of a glare, but unfortunately for everyone at the table, the awkwardness only continued as Gideon chimed in with a, “Well is ya,” only to let out a whimpering yelp as his own mother pinched his ear. Jo let out a quick, “Excuse me,” before she left the table, the fox running quickly after her son, yelling out, “Kody,” all the way as she bolted up the stairs after him.

The scene she found in the hall was exactly how she’d pictured it. Nothing had been broken, but the door to the two tod’s shared room was shut with their “No Viksens Loud” sign hanging from the entrance, the words scribbled in crayon with two stick foxes that were obviously meant to be Kody and Gideon under the words.

“Kody,” Jo said softly as she put her hand on the knob and slowly began to open the entry until she could slip her head between the crack. Her little boy was laying face down in his bed, his arms wrapped around a pillow and his security blanket as he sobbed. “Oh sugar fox,” the vixen said as she slithered into the room, gently closing the door behind her as she made her way over to the bed.

“W… why… why did she has t’be s’mean,” the tod kit cried as he held onto the blanket and pillow, feeling the bed sink a little from the weight of his mother’s body pressing into the mattress. One soft hand began to gently stroke over the top of his head as he kept crying, “She wuddn’t tryin’ t’be mean, Kody.”

The four year old sniffled, but the tears didn’t stop. “I… I jist wunnered if he’s my daddy,” Kody whimpered as he slowly started to look over his shoulder. “Y… you likes him s’much, mama. I jist… I jist thought that,” he continued as the whites of his eyes began to turn a pinkish red.

His mother let out a soft sigh as she continued to gently stroke over his head. “He ain’t yer daddy, Kody,” she cooed softly, though part of her wanted to add, “at least not yet,” or, “I wish he was.” Slowly, his mother reached over to grab him, gently dragging her son into her lap. The kit discarded the pillow, though not the blanket as his arms wrapped around his mother’s middle, his face moving to press against her upper chest.

Jo could feel his tears start to dampen her shirt as she slowly stroked over her son’s head while she held him tightly to her. “Yer daddy was a fox named Chris,” the vixen said softly as she gave the top of his head a gentle kiss.

“Am I ever gonna meet him, mama?”

The question was valid, but it stung a little. Jo had thought about contacting Chris several times over the years, but she’d always decided against it. She didn’t want her son to see what kind of a father his sire was, and she certainly didn’t want to expose him to whatever family that had produced Chris. The vixen let out a soft sigh as she decided to answer as truthfully as she could. “I don’ts know, sugar fox,” Jo replied as she began to gently rock her son back and forth, “I jist don’t know.” What she really wanted to say was, “Never,” but she couldn’t bring herself to be that cruel to her son.

Kody kept crying softly as his mother began to hum a lullaby about a fox that he loved so very much while she gently rocked him to sleep.

“Th’fox wen tout on uh chilly night,  
he pray’d t’the Moon t’give’im light,  
for he'd many a mile t’go that night  
before he reached the town.

He dun run till he came t’great big ol’ pen  
where ducks and geese was put therein.  
‘Uh cuple uh ya will grease m’chin  
before I leaves this town.’

He grabb’d th’grey goose by the neck,  
throwed a duck ‘cross ‘is back;  
he didn mind their quack, quack, quack,  
‘n theys legs all a-dangling down.

Old Mudderer Flipper-Flopper jumped out uh bed;  
out th’winder she cocked ‘er ‘ed,  
Crying, "John, John! Th’grey goose is gone  
and th’fox is on th’ town.

Then John dun went t’ th’top uh th’ill,  
blowed his horn both loud ‘n shrill,  
the fox dun said, ‘I'd better flee with my kill  
or they'll soon be on my trail.’

He dun run till he came to ‘is cozy den;  
theres was th’lil’ ones eight, nine, ten.  
They says, ‘Daddy, better go back again,  
'cause it must be uh mighty fine town.’

Then the fox and his wife without any strife  
gobbled up the goose widda foke and knife.  
Theys ain’t never had such a supper in they life  
and the little ones chewed on th’ bones.”

When Jo finished the lullaby, her son was fast asleep. She wasn’t sure if he’d run out of tears or if he was imagining that the tod in the story was his father, but either way, he was sound asleep and still holding onto her.


	12. A Moment of Clarity

Chris Rowan had been in and out of the hospital for the last three years. It had started simply enough when he’d gotten the flu, a normal illness that should have only lasted maybe a week but had managed to be prolonged for well over a month. That was when he’d learned he’d not only contracted AIV, but he’d managed to get an advanced strain of the virus known as AIDS. His white blood cells were dying in such massive numbers that he wasn’t able to replenish them fast enough as his immune system began to die off and shut down.

The flu only managed to get worse over time, devolving into pneumonia. Because he wasn’t able to fight the virus, the fox ended up bedridden at the hospital. Over time, it had only gotten worse and worse, to the point where everyone in his family had been wondering when the tod was going to die.

 

Richard and Ruby Rowan were standing out in the hall, the two red foxes staring at the doctor who was giving them the news. “Chris doesn’t have long to live,” the badger said as he thumbed through the file in his hand, “We’ve done all that we can. Just remember that he’s full of medication, so he may not be of sound mind. He might tell you things you don’t want to hear.”

Richard nodded as he wife leaned against him, tears starting to stream down her face. She had just come off an earlier shift at the exact same hospital her son was dying in. “All…. All right,” she managed to blurt out between sniffles as Richard held onto her tightly.

Her husband didn’t seem to say a word, his mind still trying to process everything. He didn’t really believe his son was going to die. He was half expecting the whole thing to be some very elaborate and sick joke, but he said nothing as he lead his wife into the small hospital room.

The two foxes had been there almost every day, so the sight before them was nothing new. That wasn’t entirely true though. Ruby had visited her son as much as she could during her breaks. Richard on the other hand, had buried himself in work, only stopping by for an hour long visit every few days, usually when Chris was asleep.

Their son was laying in a hospital bed, an IV in one hand while a breathing machine pushed air into his infected lungs. Ruby’s crying turned into sobbing as she slowly began to slip into the chair beside her son, her hand gripping his tightly. “My little boy,” the vixen kept repeating over and over as Richard just stood there, the hamster that was usually turning the wheels in his head deciding that now was a wonderful time to take a prolonged smoke break.

The tod just stood there in complete and utter silence, his eyes barely moving between his wife and their son. He could clearly remember the day he’d impregnated Ruby, which had lead to them getting married. The tod had been so happy to become a father, so much so that he’d managed a miraculous second child about a year later. He could remember every bike ride, every camping trip, every terrible elementary school play, and every time Chris had come to his office. He even remembered his son telling him that he wanted to be just like his father when he grew up. Now, everything was ending just as suddenly as it began.

 

“Mom,” a groggy, gravelly voice slowly slipped from the dying fox’s lips as he gave Ruby’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“Yes, sweetheart. I’m here. So is your father.”

“Mom,” the whispery sound continued, “I… I did a bad thing.”

Ruby couldn’t help but start to cry more and more. Chris sounded like a scared little kit more than a grown man in that moment, and all his mother could do was remember the time when she’d caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. He had of course tried to blame it on his little brother, but his muzzle was covered in crumbs and chocolate chips. She’d glared at him until he finally confessed, almost in that exact same tone of voice.

The vixen’s hand moved to gently stroke over the top of her son’s head. “Shh… No you didn’t Chris,” she tried to say in a comforting voice, but all she could manage was a squeaky one as she sobbed. Slowly, that medication filled body moved its head, half lidded eyes gazing over at his mother.

“I did, mom. I did so many bad things,” he kept saying.

“No you didn’t, Chris. That’s the medication talking. You were always my wonderful boy.”

The dying tod shook his head, “I… I was mean to Mike. I was mean to a lot of people.”

Ruby could feel her son give her hand a squeeze, “I lied to you and dad. A lot. And…” There was a long pause as he let out a pained coughing breath, “I… I met a girl.”

His mother blinked at his last sentence. “Did… did she do this to you,” the motherly fox asked, her voice starting to turn into a growl, but her son squeezed her hand again, “No. I did something terrible to her.”

Ruby’s heart started to drop like a sack full of rocks into the Mariana’s Trench. Did her son pass this onto this girl? Was there another mother out there whose daughter was slowly dying as their immune system suffered a cascade failure?

“I got her pregnant,” Chris said softly, “I got her pregnant, mom.”

His mother’s heart was still sinking as she took in his words. “I… I used her, mom. I used her, and I… I used a lot of girls, but,” he paused again, “but she wasn’t like the other girls, mom. She… she wanted the baby. She tried to get me to marry her, but… but I… but I was just so scared. I liked her, but… I… I didn’t want… I didn’t want to get married.”

Her son paused one more time as he continued his confession, “I wish I had, mom. If I… if I had just… just married her… I… I wouldn’t be here.”

Chris started to cry, “I’m so stupid, mom. I’m just so stupid.”

Ruby was already crying, and seeing her son break down and start sobbing only made her cry even more. She hadn’t seen Chris cry since he broke his arm when he was ten, and she hadn’t seen him cry tears this genuinely sad for anyone since his grandmother died when he was seven. The news combined with just how remorseful her son was being was a complete shock to the vixen’s system.

Slowly, Chris’ tears began to subside as his head rolled over to look up at the ceiling. “Mom,” he asked, “can you hear that?”

“Hear what? Chris? What are you talking about? I don’t hear anything,” Ruby retorted as she squeezed her son’s hand tightly. “Chris, we can fight this, we can help you get better.”

Her son’s face seemed to light up as one hand began to reach up towards the ceiling tiles. “Can’t you hear that, mom? Don’t you see her?”

“See who,” the vixen asked as she looked up only to see the off-white mineral fiber squares that hung above them.

“Grandma,” the tod replied. He was smiling like he used to when they’d visit Ruby’s mother, a big childish grin that spoke of warm hugs and all the cookies he could eat. The vixen stared at her son, slowly watching as the brightness in his eyes began to fade. She kept squeezing Chris’ hand, trying to keep him awake and with her, but he was going fast.

“Grandma. I have to… I… have… to… tell… you… about… J…. Jo-sef… eeeeeeen.”

The last syllable seemed to stretch on forever as the fox’s entire body relaxed, his jaws closing as the medicine rushing through his body dragged him to sleep. His hand went completely laxed against his mother’s fingers, his eyelids closed, and a pained breath left his lungs. If it hadn’t been for the slow steady beeping of the heart rate monitor it would have looked like Chris was dead.

Ruby Rowan broke down crying, the fur under her eyes soaked in tears as she kept holding on to her son’s hand, her face pressed into the hospital bed’s mattress. Her husband, Richard, just stood there. Silently. Not moving. Not saying a word.


	13. Dishes

Jo let out a soft sigh as she slowly tucked her son into bed, leaning in to give him a kiss on the forehead after placing his favorite stuffed animal in beside him. Her son’s arms wrapped around the plush Robin Hood fox doll, holding it tightly against himself and his security blanket. His small nostrils gently twitched as his breath was slowed from slumber. The vixen couldn’t help but smile down at Kody as she gently slid off the bed to head down stairs.

Hubert was surrounded by foxes, something that some people dreamed would happen to them, but this wasn’t exactly a dream, in fact it was something half way between a dream and a nightmare. The five vulpines were completely silent after Kody and Jo ran off. Part of the wolf was thankful for the death of the conversation, but the quiet seemed more eerie than the awkward question the youngest kit had posed.

Hubert was just about to excuse himself when Jo returned. He couldn’t help but give her a goofy, happy smile as she slid in next to him. The vixen gave him a warm smile before turning her head to stare at her mother, giving her an icy glare before returning to finishing her dinner.

The rest of the meal carried on silently until all the food, save for Kody’s, had been eaten. Plates were stacked upon each other; Amos’ with Betsy’s, Joshua and Gideon’s with Jeane’s, and finally Hubert and Kody’s with Jo’s. The three vixens excused themselves as they took the dirty dishes back into the kitchen, leaving the three tods and one wolf to stare at one another.

“So,” Joshua started to say as he looked between Hubert and Amos, “You… uh… like my sister?”

The canine grinned, “I sure do! She’s jist s’purdy ‘n she’s gots such a purdy name.”

The eldest tod flicked his ears around as he stared at the wolf. He really wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of Hubert courting his daughter. Honestly, it was a little strange. Foxes and wolves had a very long history of hating one another going back to the earliest of days. Fear of wolves was naturally bred into vulpines.

Amos’ son smiled, a bit cautiously, “I thinks she likes ya too.”

Hubert let out an a-hyuck before saying, “Ya thinks so?”

Joshua just shrugged his shoulders, “I thinks so.”

Not be out done, the youngest of the tods piped in with all the bluntness of his meager four years of life, “Is ya gonna marry Aunt Jo?”

There was another long awkward silence as the wolf’s face seemed to flush, while the two older tods raised an eyebrow. “I’d love ta,” Hubert finally said as he looked over at Amos. The father fox didn’t seemed too thrilled as he looked over that the muscular young canine. He thought about saying something, but he decided against it. Jo wasn’t his little girl any more. She could make up her own mind.

 

Betsy stood before the sink as Jo slowly scraped Kody’s barely touched dinner into the garbage. “You didn’t have to say that,” the younger vixen said as she gave her mother a small glare.

“He shuddn’t b’askin’ such questions,” the elder fox replied as she scrubbed one dish before setting it out to dry, “N’ neather shud his cousin.”

Jo let out a snort as she handed the plate over to Betsy. “Mama, they’s four. They ain’t know no better, besides,” the younger fox stewed, “you made Kody cry.”

Her mother paused in her work, her ears slowly starting to flatten against her head. The elder fox turned her head to look over at her daughter. “I’m sorry,” she said softly as her tail began to droop, “Ya knows I don’t likes t’make Kody cry.”

“Well, mama, ya did. He dun cried hisself t’sleep,” the younger vixen huffed as she glared at her mother, “And he dinnt eat none uh his supper neather. He’s gon be a might hungry cum morning.”

Jo’s mother nodded as she let out a sigh. Betsy didn’t like wasting food, but she adored her grandtod to no end. The elder fox hated seeing him cry. She hadn’t meant to do that, she just wanted him to be quiet. “He thought I’z being mean to ‘im, dinnt he,” she said softly as she looked at Jo.

“He did. I knows ya weren’t, but he’s jist a lil tod that wants his daddy. He’s s’big, and, well, I likes Hubert, that he jist want’d t’know if he was his pa. Ya can’ts blame him,” Jo replied as her arms crossed under her breasts.

“I… I knows,” her mother responded as she returned to washing the last few dishes, “I jist wish his daddy hadn’t dun that to ya, Jo. Leavin’ ya’ll lone wit yer boy.”

The younger vixen’s ears flattened, “T’be honest, mama. I don’ts think I cudda murried him, not after what he dun said t’me in the caf’terier.”

Betsy nodded as she put the last dish up. “Wut he said, well, dat jist ain’t right,” the elder fox replied as she started to wipe her hands off with a rag, “I thinks he’s jist scurred bout th’consequences uh his ak-shuns.”

“Scurred er not, that don’t makes it right,” Jeane finally added as she looked over at her two in-laws, “I cain’ts believe he wanted ya t’bort such a sweet lil tod like Kody.”

“Wurrever he is, he’s missin’ out on that sweet lil boy’s life,” the grandmotherly vixen said as she looked at her daughter and daughter-in-law.

“He c’n miss out on erry moment s’far as Iz conscerned,” Jo replied with a snort as she looked at her mother, “But I do thinks ya shud ‘pollergize t’ Kody.”

Her mother nodded, “I’ll takes him and Gideon out fer iced cream t’morrow.”

“Thanks, mama.”


	14. Hubert and Jo

Hubert Hemming lay naked in bed, his arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. He’d finally gotten to meet the vixen he’d seen four years ago in Wolfsberg, and she was just as beautiful as he remembered. The muscular wolf smiled as his loins began to stir. One massive hand left the back of his head to slowly slither down to his groin, fingers wrapping around his girthy member as he began to caress himself.

It had been very hard for the endowed canine to keep control of “Little Hubert” when he’d first gotten to meet Josephine. The last thing he wanted was to puff up in front of her kin, so he’d had to will himself to not think of her like he had for many a night prior. He was still a young male, and all young male’s minds wandered into the forays of sexuality at some point during the day.

Deep down, he was genuinely curious about her, but there was also the curiosity of what she looked like in the nude. He’d imagined it many times from the good look he’d gotten from the sundress wearing vixen. She had ample breasts for a fox, something he’d noticed right away. Most of the other vixens he’d met in his High School were lovely, and it wasn’t like he’d never hit on them or visa versa, but there was just something about Jo that he couldn’t place.

Most females had been more curious about Hubert’s endowments. Everyone knew he wasn’t bright, but he was bigger than all the other wolves, something that was intriguing and frightening simultaneously. He had of course shown them what they wanted to see, but they’d all gawked at him. The only girl that hadn’t run off was a Denis Van de Berg, and she was a Great Dane. Hubert hadn’t fallen head over tail for her, mostly because he was a little intimidated by her height, but he never complained about the things she did with her mouth that one time they’d ended up naked together.

The more he lay there and stroked over his length, the more he started to imagine Jo straddling his hips, the more he wondered if she was interested in him like he was interested in her. There was something about the older vixen that drove the wolf almost savage as the slowly caresses began to turn into hard pumps. The more he thought about Jo, the more he wanted her.

 

Jo sat in the living room, still dressed in her paid shirt and overalls as she thumbed through last months _Better Dens and Burrows_. She normally ignored that particular magazine, but part of her just wanted something to look at as her parents, brother, and sister-in-law were all gathered around the small, short coffee table.

Jeane had put Gideon to bed not long after dinner. The tubby tod had complained about not being tired, but as soon as she’d forced him into his pajamas, he’d passed out in his bed. Kody had been sound asleep for hours, his tail lightly flopping around behind him in an obvious dream state that only made the two vixens curious about what was going on in the boy’s mind.

Jo had just started to turn the page when her father let out a long sigh. He held the Bunnyburrow Evening Journal up to hide his face as he said, “I ain’ts gonna stops ya, Jo.”

Everyone seemed to be caught off guard by his statement, his daughter slowly taking her eyes off the full color page she was looking at to gaze right at her father. “What?”

“I ain’ts gonna stop ya. I c’n tells ya likes him, and he already dun says he likes ya back. I ain’ts gonna stops ya from seein’ one’nudder,” Amos said as he ruffled the newspaper in his hands.

Jo blinked a few times as she slowly slid out of her chair, making her way over to her father to give him a kiss on the cheek before heading out.

 

Hubert was so close, his teeth digging into his lower lip as his eyes shut tight. He would have spilled his seed right then and there, but he was abruptly pulled out of his imagination by a single word, “Hubert.” The wolf’s eyes popped open as he stared down the bed to see Josephine standing there. She was leaning against the wall, her figure completely bare before him with a smile on her lips.

The canine didn’t know what to say. He thought about apologizing and trying to cover himself up, but the vixen moved towards him, slowly and sultrily crawling onto the bed and then onto him. Her soft pelt dragged over his loins, his belly, then his chest as she leaned in to nuzzle under his chin.

“Jo-sef-een,” Hubert moaned out as his strong hands moved to wrap around the much smaller female as she cooed, “Hubert.”


	15. I Dream of Daddy

Kody held onto his knees tightly as he sat on a hill, his face pressed to his knees as he cried. He wasn’t sure where he was. The last thing he remembered was going to sleep and then waking up here. The young kit wanted his mom, though most importantly, he wanted his daddy. As the kit sniffed, he slowly began to rock back and forth.

“It ain’t fair,” he whimpered as he sniffled, “It jist ain’t fair! Why does ever-one else gits a daddy, but I don’t?”

Tears were soaking into the red fur of his cheeks as he pressed his head into his kneecaps. Suddenly, he felt something on his shoulder. The ruby eyed fox slowly started to turn his gaze over to what was resting there, his eyelids flapping up and down a few times as he spotted a strong red hand resting on his collarbone. “Come now, son,” a warm, soothing masculine voice said, “There’s no need to cry. I’m here now.”

The young fox had been so wrapped up in his own sorrow that he hadn’t really noticed where he was or what he was wearing, but it didn’t matter. “D… daddy,” he whimpered as his eyes dragged over the arm that was attached to the hand that rested on his shoulder. This fox wasn’t as red as he was, he was more a deep reddish-orange color, and he was wearing a green shirt. His eyes kept moving higher and higher to stare directly into a kind face vulpine face with gentle, almond colored eyes.

Kody leaped at him, his eyes still streaming tears as his young arms wrapped around the other fox’s middle. “Daddy,” he whimpered softly, just holding his imaginary father tight. The strong hand that had been on his shoulder gently began to stroke over the top of his head. “That’s right, my boy. I’m here. You don’t need to cry anymore,” the voice said, “I’ve come home.”

“Daddy! I missed ya s’much, daddy! Why… why’d ya go away? Why’d ya leave me’n’mama all’lone,” Kody asked, his gaze turning up to stare into that loving, fatherly face. The tod leaned in to kiss the top of his head, “I had to save the town from Prince John, Kody. You know that. I’m sorry I couldn’t come home sooner.”

“Don’t leave daddy! Please! I don’t wants ya to leave again,” the little kit begged and pleaded, “I miss’d ya.”

His “father” leaned in to kiss the top of his head again. “I missed you too, Kody. I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long, but I promise, I will never leave you for this long again.”

Slowly, the older tod grabbed the kit under his shoulders as he slowly began to stand up, gently tossing Kody onto his shoulder. “Now, what do you say we go home?”

The tod kit’s eyes and face seemed to brighten almost immediately, “R… really?”

“Of course. Your mother’s there waiting for us. We have a lot of catching up to do. The last time I saw you, well, you weren’t taller than a grasshopper.”

Kody giggled, but not before his father took off his hunter’s cap to plop it down on his head, the new ornament sinking down until the brim rested upon the bridge of his muzzle.

In truth, Kody had no idea what his father looked like. His mother had never shown him a picture of Chris, so the tod kit was left to his own imaginings of what his father might look like. His young mind had of course come up with what he thought his father was; a strong, dashing, and daring fox who wasn’t around because he was off doing something amazing and wonderful. The only fox that ever fit the description floating around in Kody’s mind, was the main character of his favorite movie, Robin Hood.

Deep down, Kody was always jealous of the rabbit named Skippy and his relationship with Robin Hood. It was the kind of father-son relationship he wanted, that he craved. Even though Skippy and Robin weren’t actually related, the kit was always envious. Why did a bunny get a father figure like Robin when he had nothing like that? But right now, that didn’t matter at all. His deepest dream was being fulfilled right then and there as his “father” Robin Hood carried him into the woods on his shoulder.

The dream only got better. As they came into an opening in the glen, they saw Josephine standing there, a happy smile on her face as she stared at her son and her husband. She was dressed just like that vixen in the movie in a pink and light purple dress with her head covered in a veil. His mother ran towards him and Robin, her arms tossing around her husband as she gave him a warm kiss on the lips. “Oh, Robin! I’m s’glad yer’ome,” she told her tod before sliding away so Robin could put Kody down onto the grass.

“I’m so glad to be home,” he replied as one hand moved to rest on the kit’s shoulder before he reached out to pull Josephine in close again so he could give her cheek a warm nuzzle.

“Daddy,” Kody asked as he looked up at his parent’s embrace. His father smiled down, still rubbing his shoulder, “Yes, son?”

“Daddy, is ya gonna teach me how t’use a bow s’Iz c’n be likes you?”

“Of course I am,” the older tod replied, but not before giving his wife another smooch, “When do you want to learn?”

“I wants t’learn now, daddy,” the tod kit grinned happily, his fluffy tail flicking and flapping about. His father chuckled, “Of course, son. I’ll teach you right now.”

Robin stole one last kiss from Jo before taking his son’s hand. Kody hadn’t noticed the bow and quiver of arrows on the tod’s back until now, but the thought of spending time with his father trumped his brain’s attempts to ruin the continuity of his dream.

 

“Good shot, son,” Robin said with a big grin on his face. Kody had hit the target again just slightly lower than bullseyes. The kit’s face was a mask of joy and his father’s was that of admiration for his son. “I wanna be jist likes ya, daddy,” the younger fox said as his tail flicked around behind him. His father nodded as he walked up to give his son’s hat and top of his head a tussle, inadvertently sliding the hunting cap out of its resting place and forcing it to flop down over the young tod’s eyes.

Kody giggled happily as he lowered the bow, his hand reaching up to re-adjust his hat so he could stare up at his father, a look of pure admiration and love covering his face. This was the father he imagined. His mother said his father’s name was Chris, but he didn’t want to believe that. He wanted to believe that his father was Robin Hood.

All of a sudden, a branch snapped. The two foxes turned their attention to see the Sheriff of Nottingham and Prince John leading some kind of army behind them. Kody and Robin stared at one another as Prince John yelled out, “It’s Robin Hood I want! Kill the boy!”

Before either of them could say a word, Kody’s father wrapped his arms around his son, picking him up as he began to bolt towards the safety of the wood. The tod kit’s arms were wrapped around his father’s neck, clutching onto him tightly as he felt one strong hand in the middle of his back. “Daddy,” he muttered tightly as he watched a band of wolves and rhinos chase after them.

“It’s all right, son. Don’t worry. We need to get you and your mother to safety,” Robin managed to pant out while he ran.

“No. No. Daddy. Come with us. Please, daddy. I don’ts wants ya t’leave again,” Kody started to whimper and beg at his father as the older tod came to a stop. Jo had to pry his hands from his father, the kit screaming out, “No! NO! NO! DADDY! NO,” as he began to sob. The vixen held onto her son tightly as she started to run deeper into the forest while Kody tried to reach out and grab his father, but was always too far away.

“DADDY,” he cried out in both his dream and in his room as his eyes popped open. The dream was gone, faded into the inky blackness that was night as rays of sunlight poured into the room. It was just him and his snoring cousin in their room. No one else. Kody couldn’t help but let out a pouting sniff, but not before his stomach growled.


	16. Sunday

Jo let out a soft groan as the first rays of light began to slither into the barn through the window. It didn’t help that she was waking up on side of the bed that was facing the portal to the outside world, so every beam was hitting her right in the eyes. The vixen thought about protesting, but she noticed that she wasn’t able to move at all. Strong arms were wrapped around her, holding her back to the muscular chest and torso of Hubert Hemming.

The feel of his soft pelt against her fur, and that caress made Jo blush softly. Her tail lightly flicked back and forth across the canine’s hip. It had been pushed out of the way hours ago. The vixen didn’t remember exactly when, since the two had turned off the lights using only the glow of the moon to make love, which meant the old clock that was sitting on the night stand couldn’t be read. Even now, she didn’t know what time it was, primarily because there was a gigantic wolf between her and said nightstand, not that she minded.

Hubert was holding her tightly to him, their size difference almost making it look like she was a life sized stuffed toy than a real vixen. She was just about to say something when the wolf began to murr into one of her ears, his tongue sliding out to give the edge of her auditory organ a lick. The feel of that slimy, slithering appendage made the fox giggle and yip, her body wriggling against her canine lover to the point where something hard began to poke one of her cheeks.

“Sumthin’s ‘wake,” Jo said in a teasing giggle as her tail began to brush down the back of Hubert’s thigh. The large wolf cracked one eye open as he smiled goofily, “G’mornin’ Jo-sef-een.”

Slowly, the fox turned her head as much as she could, “G’mornin’, sugar wolf.”

Her words elicited an even goofier grin followed by a blushing a-hyuck as the slowly hardening thing poking Jo’s backside suddenly became as hard as a granite pillar. “Ya knows we shud git outta bed,” the vixen churred softly as she wiggled her rump into the wolf’s lap.

“Do we has ta,” the larger canine whimpered and pouted, almost sounding like he was a big puppy than a grown male. Slowly, the vixen raised her right leg, feeling the girthy length slip down the curve of her cheek to flop between her legs. The heat of her own nethers wafted over Hubert’s tip and a good few inches of that pulsating member. “I thinks we c’n git in one more,” the fox churred softly as one strong hand left her side, thick fingers sliding over her soft belly fur and across the curve of her hip.

Hubert gripped the hilt of his lance, his hips easing back as he began to guide himself towards his prize. “I loves ya, Jo-sef-een,” he moaned into her ear as he parted the petals of her rose. Jo let out a long, gasping, moaning, “I loves ya too, Hubert,” as she felt the wolf begin to slip back inside her.

 

Sundays were always a day of rest and relaxation for the most part, though the farm itself was as silent and vacant of the living as a graveyard, save for the sounds of panting and yelping emanating from the barn. The rest of the Grey troop had long sense awoken to their alarms, all except for Gideon, who was awoken by his parents, and Kody who wandered down the stairs in his pajamas and asked his grandmother if he could have a bowl of cereal at first light.

No one questioned where Jo was, except for her son. Everyone seemed to skirt around the real answer, just telling him that she would be joining them at some point. The answer only made the young tod more curious, but no one was interested in answering a four year old’s questions about the tods and the vixens, or in the case of Jo, the wolves and the vixens. He and his cousin were herded back upstairs to get ready for church. Gideon, being the oldest of the two kits, jumped in the shower first, leaving Kody to sit in his room as his Aunt Jeane laid out two suits for them to wear.

The young tod stared at his aunt silently for a few minutes as she placed Gideon’s suit out for him. It wasn’t anything fancy; blue slacks with a blue jacket, a white long sleeve shirt, and a red tie. His aunt had just turned around to start looking for Kody’s apparel when the kit asked, “Iz mama over in th’barn with Mister Oobert?”

The blunt, unfiltered question slammed into her brain like a freight train hitting a stalled out car on the tracks. The vixen blinked a few times before she slowly turned her head to look at Kody. “Why’d ya say that, shoog,” Jeane inquired as her tail flopped about behind her.

“I ain’t seen mama all mornin’, n’ Grampa’n’gramma won’t tell me where mama is,” the kit replied as he looked right at the older fox, “Mama likes Mister Oobert, and I wuz jist wunnerin’ if she’s over in th’barn wit’im.”

Jeane wasn’t sure how to answer that question. It had been obvious to everyone that Jo had liked Hubert, and Hubert really really liked Jo. The vixen’s ears flicked around her head as she tried to come up with an answer that wouldn’t scar the boy for life. “Yes. Yer mama’s over in th’barn wit Mister Hubert,” she replied trying to navigate around any questions that could remotely lead to anything the kit wasn’t ready to hear, “She’s jist… uh… talkin’ to’im iz all. Yer mama likes ‘im s’she wants t’git t’knows him better.”

“D’ya thinks she wants’im t’be my daddy,” the kit asked with a voice of enthusiasm. Jeane wasn’t sure what her sister-in-law was thinking, and she knew how much Kody wanted a father. The answer was tricky, to the point where she knew if she said the wrong thing, it would easily break Kody’s little heart. “I… I don’t really know, shoog,” the older fox answered honestly, or as honestly as she could surmise, “I knows she likes’m, but I don’ts knows if she wants him t’be yer daddy.”

The kit nodded his head, “Iz that why she’s spendin’ time wit’im?”

“Iz gissin’ so.”

Kody nodded his head again, his attention turning away and over to a stuffed animal still laying on his bed. The kit scooted over to it, slowly picking it up and giving it a tight hug before looking over at his aunt. “C’n I brings him t’church, Aunt Jeane?”

“What wud yer mama say, Kody?”

“No,” the kit sniffled as he looked down at the plush fox, his ears laying flat. Kody thought about protesting, but just as he was about to say something, his cousin burst in with a towel around his waist. “Shower’s all yers, cuz.”

Twenty minutes later, Kody was ready for church. He and his cousin were dressed nearly identically, and both of them were scratching and clawing at their necks, trying to unbutton their collars and loosen their ties. Jeane gave them a glare and the two kits stopped their fidgeting, though they still vocalized their hatred of wearing ties, something that fell on deaf ears.

The troop of tods were herded out of the house by Amos and Betsy, all six of them sliding into an old faded blue station wagon with wood panel siding that had seen hundreds of thousands of miles, hundreds of sibling fights and family vacations, and many better days.

 

The interesting thing about Bunnyburrow, like many tiny rural towns, was that it had one grocery store, one elementary school, one junior high school, one high school, one synagogue, and yet there were fifteen churches. There was only one Catholic church and fourteen Protestant churches. The unusually high number of Protestant churches were primarily routed in three different explanations; either different sects, holdovers from when Predator and Prey went to different churches, or a fight amongst the congregation over who made the better potato salad.

At the moment, though, the Grey troop were headed to one of the integrated churches. The building itself wasn’t anything overly spectacular. It was a newer structure built in the 1980s, but it wasn’t a great marvel of architecture. It was four story rectangle with a slant roof and a steeple on one end that connected to another rectangular four story building. Looked at from above, the two buildings combined formed a large letter T.

The only reason the building was so large was due to the enormous population of Bunnyburrow. Even though the city itself was tiny, the predominant species that lived there were rabbits, so the population was well over eighty million and growing.

A stream of bunnies both young and old were making their way inside as the station wagon pulled into the parking lot. “Ya’ll member war w’parked,” the patriarch of the troop said as he slipped out of the car.

 

The sermon itself was rather mundane, a continuation of the previous Sunday’s one about loving your neighbor. Kody and Gideon fidgeted the entire time, the two foxes uncomfortable with their ties. In reality, they were more interested in getting to one of the Sunday School classes than having to listen to the gigantic tiger on stage talk about being neighborly to one another. It was one of the few times they got to have candy and punch.

When the sermon was finally over, both Gideon and Kody bolted for the door. The nice thing about being stuck behind an army sized group of bunnies was they could be the first to get to Sunday School. The two tods raced out the door and down the hall, their feet hitting the carpet over and over again before stumbling up the stairs and sliding into one of the rooms. They panted heavily, both of them bending over to catch their breath as one of the many Sunday School pastors sauntered in.

The elderly lioness smiled softly at them as she started to arrange the room to her liking by building a circle of chairs around hers. “You boys must really like Sunday School,” she said as she finally sat down. The two foxes decided not to answer at all, just sitting down beside one another as other children began to filter in.


	17. Love Thy Neighbor

Leroy Hopps, his twin brother Stu Junior, along with his other brothers Larry, Moses, and Curly, three of his sisters, Mary-Lou, Heidi, and Pauline, two of his cousins from the Springer division, two of his friends from the Baxter brigade, one friend from the Cottontail regiment, and one friend from the Tupuna battalion were all sitting in a semi-circle.

The elderly lioness, a one Mrs. King, looked around the room, taking account of everyone who was there. The bunnies and sheep were gathered together, but they’d placed a buffer zone of Jimmy Catmull and Miguel Martinez between them and Gideon and Kody Grey. The only other person who was willing to sit next to the two foxes was Travis Blackfoot. Mrs. King wished Travis wouldn’t sit next to Gideon Grey. The two were good friends, but they always managed to get in trouble when the two were together, like water and sodium.

“Did you learn anything from Pastor Tony’s sermon,” the motherly lioness asked the group of children. As expected, canned answers came forth, everything from, “Love your neighbor,” to, “Be nice to everyone.”

She was surrounded by children after all, so none of their answers would lead to deep philosophical questions, at least that’s what she thought at first. The lioness noticed that Kody had been the only child to not say a word. He was just looking down at the floor, his feet rocking back and forth. “Kody,” Mrs. King said as she looked over at the young fox, “Do you have anything to add?”

The kit’s first reaction was to keep staring at the ground for a few seconds before he slowly started to look up at the old feline, “What… what if they’s mean to ya Mizuz Keeng?”

“You should still love them.”

“But what if they says yer daddy was th’devil,” he whimpered. The problem with living in a small town was that everyone heard everything. Mrs. King had heard about what happened at the War Veteran’s Association, as had the entire town, and the entire town knew that Kody didn’t have a father. The old lioness was just about to say something, when Stu Junior piped up. “How’dya knows he weren’t,” the bunny boy blurted out as he looked over at the tod.

“N’one’s err seen yer daddy,” Heidi added only for Leroy to continue the line of thinking by saying,“Errybody knows foxes wuz made by th’devil.”

Kody’s ears flattened against his head as he started to cry, his fists clenching tightly. “No he weren’t and no we wuzn’t! Mama said…,” the tod kit started to retort when the eldest bunny, the six year old from the Tupuna family chimed in, “Mama said don’t mean its da troof.”

Mrs. King was quickly realizing that she was losing control of her Sunday School class. Kody’s cousin was just about to say something when the old lioness stood up, letting out a mighty roar that immediately silence everyone in the room and caused the entire floor to go completely silent. She glared at all the children except Kody who was shuddering with rage and anger as a few tears flowed down his face. Her angry expression began to melt, slightly, as she turned her eyes to the young tod. “Kody. Gideon. I need you to step out into the hall for a minute.”

The two kits scurried out of the room in silence. Neither of them were sure why they were being sent out, but whatever it was, they didn’t think they were in trouble.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Mrs. King turned her attention to the group of bunnies, two big cats, and one ferret. “Now,” she said in a very stern tone, “You’re going to tell me where you heard that non-sense.”

The six Hopps children, two Baxters, one Cottontail, and one Tupuna all looked at each other, unsure about what to say, wondering if a vow of silence was a good option. Unfortunately for them, one of the Springer kits decided to speak out. “Ah herd Otto say that once,” the doe rabbit said as her ears drooped onto her back. Her cousins and friends gave her a glare, as if to call her a traitor, but Mrs. King stepped in.

“Why am I not surprised,” she replied as her arms crossed over her chest.

“It’s th’troof,” one of the Baxters said, “Foxes is red cause they’s made by th’devil.”

“He also says that lions are brown because they were made by the devil. He says tigers have orange and black stripes because they were made by the devil. In fact, I’ve heard him say that about every predator,” she told the children, all of whom were looking between her and each other.

“But Kody don’ts gots no daddy,” Leroy piped up, “How d’we knows the devil ain’t his pa?”

Mrs. King snorted, “My son doesn’t have a daddy. Does that mean his father was the devil?”

The bunnies all looked confused as the lioness continued, “My husband died when my son was young. How do you know that didn’t happen to Kody?”

“But youz a Mizzuz, and Jo-sef-een Grey’s a Mizz,” Larry retorted, but Mrs. King had an answer, “And yet, how do you know he didn’t die before they got married?”

There was another long silence in the room. The lioness had brought up a good point that none of the other children had ever thought of. “You said all the right things,” Mrs. King continued, “but I don’t think you really understand Pastor Tony’s message. You said we should be nice to one another, but you weren’t nice to your neighbor. Kody’s never done anything mean to you, so why are you mean to him? I think you all should go home and think about what Pastor Tony said.”

Slowly, the lioness walked over to the door, and opened it, sticking her head out to look over at the two tod kits. “I’m ending Sunday School early, but you’re welcome to come in and have some candy and punch.”

 

Amos, Betsy, Joshua, and Jeane were mingling around the post sermon snack table, the skull of foxes holding on to individual plates with cheese and boiled eggs while they nursed on Styrofoam cups of coffee. The foxes were conversing with a few other predators, namely the Catmulls and the Hernandezes. For the most part, it seemed like conversation was going exactly where everyone thought it would, with simple questions about how they were doing before devolving into discussions about the growing season. That line of discussion continued until Margarita Martinez, a black jaguar, asked where Jo was. None of them felt very comfortable about answering her inquiry, all of the foxes looking at one another before Joshua finally spoke.

“She’s… uh…. She ain’t feelin’ well,” he answered quickly, “Gots a cold is all.”

“Yep. Got a cold yesterdy,” Amos added. Luckily, the four felines bought the lie hook line and sinker, though Amos wasn’t exactly comfortable lying in church.


	18. Phone Calls

Mike Rowan had been staying over at his girlfriend, Helen Zlatan’s apartment. The college senior seemed to be doing that more and more as of late, probably because he liked the silver vixen. They’d been seeing one another for the last two years, and the red fox had purchased an engagement ring for her not long ago, the little black box burning a hole in his jacket for the last week.

The tod was just about to pop the question when the phone rang. He’d been down on his knees holding her hand when the cordless phone started to chirp, completely ruining the moment. Helen had graciously excused herself to answer, only to turn her head over to Mike.

“Mike, it’s your mom,” the silver and black furred female said, a strange expression on her face, “It sounds important.”

The tod groaned as he stood up and wandered over to the phone. “Someone better have died,” he muttered under his breath as he took the plastic rectangle from his soon-to-be fiancée. “Hey mom,” he said in a cheery tone, but the voice he heard over the receiver was anything but pleasant.

“M… Mike,” the sobbing tone said, “Mike… K… Chris… Chris almost passed away last night. Mike… he said he was sorry for the way he treated you,” Ruby managed to say between tears as she stayed on the phone.

“H… How’s dad…” her son started to ask, but Ruby didn’t let him finish. “You… you know your father… he… well… he’s still… he’s still processing everything,” the vixen said, “He… he has… his own way dealing with things.”

Mike let out a long sigh. The day was coming, and he had never fully figured out how he would react if his brother died, but right now, it was turning into a question of what day would it be. Part of him wasn’t sure if he actually believed Chris’ confession, then again, Chris wasn’t religious nor did he have anything to lose from saying he was sorry. It wasn’t like he would have been magically healed from apologizing for all the crap he’d put his little brother through.

“Mike,” his mother continued, “Chris… Chris said that he… he met a girl and… he mentioned a name. Do… do you remember anyone named… Josephine?”

“Uhm,” the fox responed. He remembered someone named Josephine. He remembered his brother had broken into his room in a post orgasmic drunken stupor to brag about sleeping with a vixen named Josephine, but he didn’t fully remember all the details. “Yeah. Chris mentioned her a few times.”

“Honey, do you remember anything about her?”

Mike didn’t want to bring Helen into this, but he didn’t seem to have much of a choice. Slowly, he turned his gaze over to his girlfriend. “Uhm… Helen… Can… do you think you can answer a question for me?”

The silver vixen raised an eyebrow. “What about,” she queried, certainly curious why Mike, and by extension, his mother, needed her help.

“D… do you remember Josephine? That vixen from freshman year who dropped out after Chris knocked her up?”

“You mean Jo Grey? Yeah. I remember her. Why?”

“Chris… kinda… may have… told my mom about Jo and… having a grandkit last night.”

The silver vixen nodded. She knew that it was only a matter of time till those hot beans were spilled right on the proverbial lap of Ruby Rowan. Honestly, Helen liked Ruby, and her having to deal with Chris’ freshly uncovered dirty laundry, didn’t feel right. Anything she could do to help would be done. “I’ve got her address and phone number.”

“Wait. Really?”

“We were pretty good friends, Mike. We kept in touch after she left.”

The tod smiled sheepishly, “Could… could I get that info, Helen.”

Helen shook her head as she sighed before pushing her boyfriend out of the way to pull out her address book and plopping it down in front of Mike. “Right there,” she pointed at the name. Mike leaned in to give her a big kiss on the cheek, “Thanks, Helen.”


	19. Morning Report

Jo and Hubert were sitting on the couch in the living room when the rest of the Grey troop returned. Gideon and Kody were holding onto their ice cream cones, the two kits licking and lapping happily at them as they wandered into the living room. Kody gave his mother and her sweetheart a glance before he wandered over to television with his cousin to watch some cartoons.

Amos and Betsy however, stopped to look at the two love birds. The patriarch still not sold on his daughter having relations with a wolf. “I’m gissin’ ya’ll had a good… uh… chat,” he said, trying to not delve into whatever escapades the two had managed to get into the previous evening or morning. He was happy that the two had at least showered.

“Yessir, we sure did,” Hubert replied with a big old grin as Jo giggled and squeezed his hand. The two other foxes nodded their heads quietly, but their daughter decided to add, “Th’paper came fer ya, daddy.”

Amos grinned. He’d ordered the Zootopia Chronicle’s Sunday Edition years ago. He enjoyed the Sunday Paper, it also didn’t help that the Zootopia Chronicle’s Sunday Edition had the largest collection of comics of any paper anywhere. It was a great way to bond with his children by reading “The Funnies” as his own father had called them, a name that stuck even with his own kits and grandkits.

The patriarch of the skull turned to look over at the two kits whose eyes were glued to the moving pictures on the television. “Ya’ll wants t’read da funnies wit me?”

Gideon and Kody’s eyes ripped away from the screen, their faces lighting up as they forgot about their cartoons and their ice cream to scurry over to their grandsire. “Read t’us grampa,” the two shouted out as their arms wrapped around his legs.

The old fox chuckled as he patted both his grandtod’s heads. “Sho thing! Ya gots t’lets go uh m’legs dough.”

His grandkits let go, the two tods following their grandsire closely as he made his way over to the gigantic mass of newspaper wrapped in a plastic sleeve. He reached in to pull out the paper, slowly separating each section out until he managed to retrieve the funny papers which were grouped in with the Editorials.

Slowly, Amos slid down into his favorite spot on a different couch that sat next to a potbellied stove that served as a fireplace. Kody and Gideon scrambled up onto the seats, leaning in to stare over their grandsire’s arms to listen to him read.

The two kits pointed at their favorite strips for their grandsire to read, listening to his voice as he read and interpreted the comic panels. Page after page they went until the funnies finally ended, the two boys pouting. Suddenly, Kody noticed something after the last page of funny papers.

“Grampa,” the young kit inquired as he pointed to a page marked Obituaries, “What’s that?”

Amos looked between the two tod kits, “Thems here is what theys call O-bitch-you-air-ees.”

“What that mean,” Gideon piped in.

“Well, dat der’s an announcement of erryone who wents t’Heaven.”

“Ohhhh,” the two tods said in near unison as they nodded their heads. They weren’t sure if they wanted to read those. They didn’t sound like they’d be funny at all.


	20. Richard Rowan

Normally, Richard didn’t come into work on Sundays. He usually went in on Saturdays since his partner, Eli Mousekewitz, took Saturdays off for Shabbat. Richard didn’t mind working with the diminutive shrew, but he never fully trusted him. It wasn’t that he didn’t like shrews, far from it, many of his clients were shrews, and he had been to many shrew gatherings, he just didn’t trust Mousekewitz ever since the day he’d met him. It didn’t help that Eli’s family had had a bit of a notorious reputation as lawyers for Galactic Pictures, managing to swindle one of their animators, as well as several directors, out of his intellectual properties based on a contract loophole the shrews had managed to insert in the fine print.

The old fox sighed as he stared at a contract that he and Mousekewitz had been working on for the last month. He’d read that document fifteen times in the last hour, but his mind was elsewhere entirely. He couldn’t stop thinking about his son. He’d lost his younger brother when he was little, and the circumstances were eerily similar, though his younger brother hadn’t contracted a venereal disease, he’d died of polio. A vaccine for the disease had come out the year after he’d died. Too little. Too late.

Richard squeezed his pen tightly as a tear started to form in one eye, slowly dripping down his cheek to leave a long red streak on his fur before plopping onto his desk. The fox slowly started to cry. He never cried in front of anyone, not even his own wife. The sorrow and anger began to build up in his body as one arms swiped the mound of law books and papers off his desk, the contents flying off the edge of the heavy mahogany writing table to fall into a gigantic pile on the floor.

The tod started to openly bawl as Eli made his way through a specially built door down at the base of the actual office door.

“Richa’d,” the shrew said, not even paying attention to anything, “I have a new contract for ya to look at, but I need the afta’noon off. I think that new cream cheese I tried gave me gas.”

“GET OUT,” The fox screamed as he gave his business partner an icy, teary eyed glared.

The tiny mammal shrieked as he bolted back out the door, slamming it behind him. The tod shook his head as he started to get back to his emotional breakdown. “The nerve of some people,” he whimpered out, “Doesn’t he understand the concept of knocking?”

 

Richard let himself have a good cry for at least thirty minutes, letting the phone ring multiple times until Eli paged him.

“Richa’d? Ya wife’s on line one. She says she’s been trying t’call ya for the last half hour. She says she has some good news,” the shrew said over the intercom as Richard seemed to magically compose himself. “Yes, I’ll pick up.”

The old fox pressed the button for line one after picking up the handle, his voice and demeanor doing a complete about face.

“Honey! It’s so good to hear your voice!”

“Richard,” his wife said, her own tone a little wavering and unstable, “I talked to Mike.”

“Oh good! How is Mike? Is he eating well? Is he still dating Helen? When is he going to put a ring on that vixen’s finger?”

“Honey, Mike remembered the name Chris said, you know, Josephine. She was one of Chris’ old girlfriends. I’ve got her number and address.”

Richard gave the phone a stern look, half expecting his wife would see his expression. “Why do you have her number and address? Is there something you need to tell me, Honey?”

“Richard. She has Chris’ kit.”

“Chris had a kit?”

“I swear, Richard. Sometimes you’re as dense as a lead weight.”

“But a lead weight can’t make love to you, honey.”

The old fox heard his wife give an exasperated sigh, “Richard. I want to see my grandkit. They’re the only thing we will have left of Chris.”

“What about all his baby clothes? And the pictures?”

“GODDAMNIT RICHARD! I WANT TO SEE MY GRANDKIT,” Ruby screamed over the phone so loudly that he had to pull the receiver away from his ear.

“What do you need me to do, honey?”

“Richard. I need you to come home. I know it sounds stupid, but I… I just want you to help me call Josephine.”

“Don’t worry, honey, I’ll head home as soon as I’m done looking over this contract,” her husband replied only to notice that said contract had flow off with the books, “In fact, I just finished looking over that contract. I’ll be home in a half hour.”

“Thank you, Richard.”


	21. Interruptions

Jo and Hubert were sitting on the porch, the vixen warmly leaning against the wolf, gently holding hands as they rocked on the porch swing. The two love birds both let out a contented sigh as the bench swing gently glided back and forth.

“I ain’t sure if yer mama’n’daddy likes me,” Hubert said softly as he gently squeezed Jo’s hand. The vixen just nuzzled into her sweetheart’s shoulder, “Jist give’m time, shoog. They’ll cum round eventually.”

The wolf nodded before leaning more into Jo. “I cud jist do this all day,” he whispered to the fox, something that made her giggle as she turned her gaze to look up at him, “Ya sure y’don’t wants t’do th’other thang?”

The canine blushed and let out a goofy a-hyuck that only made her giggle more as she leaned up to give him a peck on the cheek. “Wants me to cum over t’the barn again tonight?”

Hubert kept blushing as he leaned in closer, “I sure do, Jo-sef-een.” Gently, the wolf’s lips pressed against the vixens, the two sharing a slow, somewhat sloppy kiss as their eyes closed. Unfortunately, Joshua managed to interrupt them.

“Jo,” he said as he poked his head out the screen door, “Ya gots a phone call.”

The vixen let out a huff as she slowly broke the kiss to turn her head towards her brother. “Tell’m I’ll be there in a sec’nd,” she replied before straightening out her sun dress. Hubert looked up at her with a slightly pouty look on his face, but Jo leaned in to give him another kiss on his cheek. “I’ll be right back, sugar wolf.”

The canine blushed but not before letting out a small a-hyuck from her words and the smooch he’d received. The reddish-yellow fox smiled sweetly before moving back into the house.

Amos was standing beside as small desk that was neither in the dining room nor the living room, rather, it bridged the two. He held onto an old corded phone that he’d placed face down onto the varnished wooden furniture.

“Who is it, daddy,” Jo asked softly as she looked between her father and the phone. “I ain’t rightfully sure,” her father replied as he looked over at his only daughter, “Theys says they knows ya. Summon named Ruby.”

“Ruby,” the younger fox said as her ears perked and flicked around, “Don’t knows nobody by that name.”

“Ya wants me t’hang up?”

Jo shook her head, “Naw, daddy. I’ll takes th’call.”

Amos nodded his head as he stepped away from the desk, moving over to his favorite chair in the living room before plopping down into it and grabbing the paper. Jo watched as her father returned to his assigned place, her eyes moving from him to her mother, brother, and sister-in-law, all of whom were silently reading varying pieces of the paper or a magazine. Gideon and Kody, however, were laying on their bellies in front of the TV, staring at the cartoons running across the screen.

Gingerly, Jo reached down to pick up the phone, sliding the transmitter into her ear before speaking, “Hello,” into the receiver.

“Josephine? My… My name is Ruby. Ruby Rowan. I’m Chris…” the voice started to say, but Jo wasn’t going to have any of it, “I don’t’s wants t’talk t’Chris. Nots now. Nots ever!”

“Please! Wait,” the voice cried out but the vulpine had already made up her mind. Jo slammed the phone back down on its receptacle so hard that everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her. The reddish-yellow pelted vixen didn’t turn around, she just stared at the phone, her nostrils flaring as her hands clenched tight. Her whole body was trembling as she just kept staring at the phone.


	22. Star 69

Ruby heard the buzzing of a disconnected line, the red fox staring down at her phone, completely unsure of what to do. Slowly, the vixen pressed the off button. Whatever Chris had done to Jo had completely poisoned her to any mention of him. “I’m… I’m never going to see my grandkit,” she started to whimper as she slid the phone back into the cradle, a tear flowing down her cheek.

She was just about to walk away from the phone when it started ringing again. Ruby’s ears perked up as she slowly picked up the phone. “H… Hello?”

“You can tell Chris that he c’n go t’Hell’n’die,” a venomous voice screamed over the phone.

“He already is,” the teary-eyed vixen said as she started to sob, “Chris is dying.”

There was a long pause, but Jo hadn’t hung up the phone. If she had, Ruby would have heard the buzzing sound again. “What… whaddya mean?”

“K… Chris… Chris,” Ruby stammered, but she was rescued by her husband Richard, his strong hand pulling the phone from his wife’s grip.

“Chris is going to die any day now,” he said in a very calm and collected voice.

“Who’s this?”

“This is Richard, his father, but you can call me Dick. Everyone does, even if they don’t know me,” the tod replied before he kept going, “Last night, my son told us what happened.”

“Did he tells ya how he used me? Did he tells ya that he wanted me t’bort my lil Kody? Did he tells ya that he wuz a yeller bellied sap sucker who dinnt wants t’own up t’what he dun? Did he tell ya that he hid behind ya’ll, saying that he’d try t’take way m’famly’s farm if I gives him the slap he dun deserve,” the still very much enraged voice said.

“He did tell us that he used you, but he didn’t get into any specifics. He did agree with you that he was a coward,” Richard kept his cool. He could tell this vixen hated Chris, and after what his son had confessed the previous evening, he wasn’t exactly surprised.

There was a slight pause in the conversation after Richard’s retort. The old tod wasn’t sure if Josephine was getting ready for another round of yelling or if she was trying to gain some semblance of cool, but ultimately Jo finally said something, “Why’d ya call?”

“We thought that, since Chris is dying, you might want to see him again.”

“No.”

“Miss Grey,” Richard’s entire tone started to change, “My son hurt you, and there’s nothing anyone can ever do to heal that wound. I understand that you don’t want to see him again, but all I ask is that you give my son some closure.”

The conversation paused for a second as Richard gathered the rest of his words, “My son apologized to us last night, but I think… I think who he really wants to apologize to is you.”

More silence followed as the old tod paused again. He waited a few seconds before continuing, “Miss Grey, I am a lawyer and every client I have ever dealt with has always wanted closure. Do you plan on being bitter towards Chris your entire life?”

Again, there was silence on the other end, but that didn’t stop Richard from moving on. “Miss Grey, are you married?”

“No,” came a whispering voice.

“You’ve been raising your son alone these last few years? With no father?”

“I ain’t been alone. I gots m’family t’help me.”

“But your, to quote you, ‘lil Kody’ doesn’t have a father, am I right?”

“Yes.”

“And I would venture to guess that he asks you a great deal of questions about him? Questions like when he’s ever going to see him?”

“Yes.”

“Miss Grey,” Richard said as his wife looked up at him, stunned to see a small tear forming in the corner of his eye, “Let Chris see his son. Just once. If you don’t want to do this for yourself or for Chris, please do this for ‘lil Kody’. I promise we’ll never bother you again.”

There was dead silence on the other end of the phone. “Please. ‘lil Kody’ is all that we’ll have left of Chris once he passes on. My wife and I… we… and Chris… we all want to see ‘lil Kody’ once before Chris dies. Please let us have some closure.”


	23. Decisions

Jo wasn’t sure what to do. Her entire family had heard her yelling at the phone. It wasn’t hard to since there were no walls separating the dining room and the living room. No one seemed to move at all, except Kody. He’d never heard his mother angry, then again, she’d never before mentioned that his father wanted to abort him. Of course, the kit had no idea what abort meant, but by the sound of the word and the spittle flying from his mother’s mouth, it didn’t mean anything good.

Slowly, Kody got up off his belly, his paws and knees pressing into the carpet as he stood up before wandering over to his mother. Kody hadn’t been the only one though. Amos had slipped out of his chair to put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder, but she’d waived him off, not in the mood to feel her sire’s comfort. She was going to have to make a decision.

Suddenly, Jo felt a tug at the hem of her sun dress. The vixen slowly turned her gaze to look down at her son. He was still dressed in his Sunday best, though he’d discarded the jacket and tie long ago. Kody was looking up at her with those big almond colored eyes as his dark red fingers closed around the warm yellow fabric of her skirt.

All Kody ever wanted was to have a father, that and meet his real father. She remembered sitting down with him and Gideon to watch Robin Hood. The kit would always turn a mean streak of green every time Skippy and Robin Hood were on screen together. Could she really live with herself if she kept him from seeing Chris?

“Mama,” Kody asked as he stared up at her, “Why’d ya say mean things about daddy? Why dontcha wants t’talks to ‘im?”

Jo bit her lower lip as she stared down at her son. He really did look a lot like his sire. Slowly, the vixen knelt down, one hand moving to rest the phone down on the table as she put a paw on her son’s cheek. “Yer daddy did some mean things, sugar fox.”

“But… Mizzuz King told me that we sh’d loves people, even when they’s mean to us.”

His mother let out a pained sigh. She did still have some feelings for Chris. He was her first and he’d given her Kody, but right now, she felt stuck. Her little boy was right. Mrs. King was right. Chris’ father was right. She needed closure. Her son needed a father. Chris needed to see his son. With a heavy heart, Jo let out another long sigh as she gave Kody’s forehead a kiss, “Yer right, shoog.”

Slowly, Jo reached up to grab the phone. “When?”

“As soon as you can, Miss Grey. I don’t really know how long Chris has left, so the sooner the better.”

The vixen nodded, “Iz ya in Z’topia?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll b’ there t’night.”

“Thank you, Miss Grey.”

Jo placed the phone back in its cradle before staring down at her son. “Kody. You’n’me’r gonna take a little trip.”

“Are we gonna see daddy, mama,” her son asked as his face started to light up.

“We’re gonna see yer daddy at the hospital.”

“What’s wrong with daddy?”

“Yer daddy ain’t feeling good, sweetie. He wants t’sees ya in case,” she started to say, but her son interrupted her, “Incase what, mama?”

“Incase,” Jo half wanted to say, “incase he goes to hell,” but she couldn’t stomach saying that to her son, so she went with, “incase he goes t’Heaven.”

Kody’s little almond eyes blinked a few times as he tossed his arms around his mother’s hips, “But I don’ts want daddy t’go t’Heaven. I wants him t’stay here. I wants us t’be a famly.”

His mother gently ran her fingers through the fur on the top of his head. “We’re gonna be a family again fer as long as we can, sugar fox. I promise. Now, we gots t’git packed.”


	24. Night

Hubert chewed on the side of his lip as he looked at Jo and Kody. The two were dressed very plainly; the vixen still in her sun dress and her son in his overalls and a plain green shirt. He’d finally gotten to meet Jo and her son, and now they were headed to Zootopia, which meant spending time with the female was out of the question. He’d thought about asking if he could tag along, but that just didn’t seem right.

Jo smiled up at her canine lover, one hand giving his broad chest a light pat. “I’ll b’home soon, sugar wolf,” the reddish-yellow colored woman said as she leaned in to give his cheek a peck, “Ya be nice t’my mama’n’daddy ‘n th’rest uh m’kin.”

“I sure will, Jo-sef-een,” the wolf replied with a goofy smile, “Iz hopes y’ll b’back soon.”

The vixen slowly looked down at her son, giving his hand a small squeeze, “I don’t thinks we’ll stick round t’long, shoog, but I’ll lets ya knows when we’z gonna b’home.”

Hubert’s head nodded up and down like a bobble head doll as he looked between Josephine and Kody before leaning in to give the female a very wet smooch on the cheek. Jo giggled softly as she gave him a quick peck before pulling away.

“C’mon now, Kody. We’z gots a train t’catch,” she said as she tugged on her son’s hand.

“Okay, mama,” the little kit replied as he followed after her. He was holding onto his stuffed doll and security blanket in one arm with a backpack slung over both shoulders. The tod was holding onto the vixen’s hand tightly, watching her swing her own leather messenger bag back and forth as they made a b-line for the station wagon. From what the kit heard, they would be taking the beat up old car to the station and leaving it there for when they got back.

Kody was a mix of emotions. He was ecstatic to finally meet his father. He was ecstatic to meet his other grandma and grandpa. He was nervous about the train ride. He was nervous about having to go to a hospital. He was sad that his daddy was in the hospital. He was sad that his daddy may never come home to live with them. The kit didn’t really know what to think as he climbed into the passenger’s seat and closed the door, his mother turning the key to start the engine before backing out.

The young tod peered out the window, his nose pressing against the glass. Because of how late his grandmother and grandfather had called, Jo and Kody were packed and leaving after sunset. For the most part, there were no lights along the highway, save for those in the distance given off by the farm houses. The tod kit had never been on the highway after dark, so the entire scene enticed and enthralled him to no end.

“It’s really dark, iddn it, mama.”

“It sure is, sugar fox,” his mother replied as a single street light appeared, signaling the turn towards the town of Bunnyburrow proper. Jo slowed down, her turn signal on as she changed direction so the car would head into town.

After a few minutes, the two foxes were surrounded by light. Main Street had street lamps every few yards, as did one or two of the other main streets that branched off from Main, like Barley Avenue. There were a few people wandering around the streets, but Sunday nights were usually family dinners for most of the residence.

Kody looked around in awh. He’d never seen the town at night, then again, he’d never been out of the house at night before, so it was all new. Slowly, the kit looked over his shoulder at his mother. “Mama, is Bunnybrurrah always likes this at night?”

His mother nodded, “It is sugar fox. All places is lighted at night.”

“Wow,” he grinned as he slowly felt the car turn again before coming to a stop. Before he realized it, he was looking up at Bunnyburrow station. The platform itself was completely vacant, save for someone standing behind the ticket counter.

Jo unbuckled her seatbelt before reaching over to do the same to Kody’s. “C’mon, shoog. We gots t’get goin’. Train’ll be here soon.”

Her son nodded as he opened the door and slithered out, throwing on his backpack before grabbing his stuffed toy and security blanket. His mother smiled as she made her way over to the other side of the station wagon to take his hand. “Ya ready fer yer first train ride?”

Kody nodded his head up and down enthusiastically as he held onto his toy and blanket, “I sure am, mama!”


	25. The First Train Ride

Unfortunately for Kody, he didn’t make it far into the trip. The excited young kit managed to fall asleep about half an hour into the near two hour ride, his head gently resting against his mother’s lap as he curled up in his blanket, arms wrapped around his favorite toy.

Before that, though, Kody had been excited. It wasn’t technically his first train ride, but it was the first he could remember. The first one since the day his mother brought him home. The kit had looked all over the train, a big smile on his face. There weren’t many passengers on board outside of businessmammals, most of whom were fast asleep while others were reading books or papers.

Jo was a bit surprised by the modern looking railed vehicle. The one she’d travelled in four years ago looked vastly different, even externally. She had heard that MamTrak had been bought out by the ZTA slightly over a year and a half ago, and they’d already taken steps to upgrade the system. What had been a dull, beat up steel engine with identical cars had been exchanged for sleek yellow ones imported from Nippon. The interior was different as well, looking more like a subway train rather than the old ones designed to be similar to trains used in West Allemagne. The vixen wasn’t entirely sold on the new look, mostly because the seats weren’t very comfortable, then again, they hadn’t been very comfortable in the previous iteration, but her son didn’t seem to care. He had been busy staring out the window in surprise at the few lights and over all blackness until he’d tired out.

His mother let out a long sigh, her paw lightly resting on Kody’s shoulder. Even though she had agreed to the request, Jo was still not entirely comfortable with going to see Chris. The vixen was naturally resentful of what the tod had done to her, of what he’d told her to do when she’d found out she’d been pregnant, and of how he hadn’t faced the consequences of his actions. Even though he was dying and he’d apparently made some kind of confession, part of her still doubted the authenticity. But there was an entirely different part of her, the part that had actually fallen for Chris over their dating period, that hoped everything was genuine. If not for her sake for Kodys.

Jo was just about to attempted a nap when she noticed something off in the distance. Lights. A soft smile started to spread over her face as she gently nudged her sleeping son. “Kody,” she whispered softly, “Kody. Y’better wakes up. We’re here.”

The little kit let out a wide yawn as he rubbed his eyes, “M… mama?”

His mother giggled sweetly, “We’re alm’st t’Z’topia, sugar fox.”

Kody gave her a sleepy grin as he slowly sat up. “W… where, mama?”

The vixen smiled as she gently reached her arms around her son, slowly picking him up and making her way over to a window. One long hand pointed to a huge gathering of lights far in the distance. “It’s jist over there, shoog,” she said softly, watching as his sleep filled eyes began to light up.

“Wow,” Kody marveled as the lights began to grow larger and larger until they formed into buildings and sky scrapers. The kit had never seen, nor even imagined buildings could be that tall. His jaw dropped in amazement as they kept moving towards the mighty metropolis, passing through the four major biomes before an automated announcement came over the speaker, “Now arriving at Zootopia Central Station. Please be seated until the train has come to a complete stop.”

Jo smiled softly as she carried her son back to their seat, the vixen gracefully sliding down as she slipped her kit into her lap. “Don’t fergit yer back pack, sugar fox,” she said as she reached over to grab her son’s back pack. Her kit nodded as he slid into the straps before grabbing his mother’s hand. The motherly fox reached her free hand over to grab the handle of her leather messenger bag full of the barest of necessities; make up, a change of under garments, and two sun dresses.

Slowly, the train came to a halt at the station. The businessmammals either awoke from their naps or put down their reading material, every one of them standing up and moving like a hoard of zombies towards the sliding doors.

The mother-son pair watched them pile out, most of them groaning from having to wake up from their slumber before spreading out. Slowly, Jo and Kody made their way out into the station.


	26. Zootopia Central Station

Part of Jo wasn’t surprised that Zootopia Central Station was button up tightly. It was well into the evening now, so none of the usual stores were open. It didn’t make much sense to stay open for the few stragglers who wandered in on the late train. Her son looked up at her, sleepy eyed and leaning against her as a few businessmammals wandered past, all heading for the exit, though some of them were stopping at a few kiosks to order taxis or hotel rooms.

Jo looked between the mammals and her son. She’d figured she’d have to get a hotel room, but she wasn’t entirely certain when. She also had forgotten to ask Richard and Ruby about which hospital Chris was staying in. The vixen wasn’t entirely sure what to do, especially since she’d forgotten to ask for Richard and Ruby’s number.

Jo was just about to head towards a phone booth to look through the white pages when she heard a male’s voice calling out, “Miss Grey?”

The vixen’s ears perked up as she turned her head to see where the sound was coming from.

 

Richard always kept a copy of the Zootopia Transit Authority’s schedule in his office and at home. It was how he usually went to work. After all, he didn’t want to put too many miles on his fancy Nexus. The nice thing was that there weren’t many trains coming to Zootopia from Bunnyburrow, in fact, there was only one at night, the 8:00pm. It was simple to deduce that since Ruby had called around sunset that Josephine and “lil Kody” would be on that one, especially when his son’s ex had said, “I’ll b’ there t’night.”

The old tod figured that the streets would be empty, so he and Ruby took the Nexus out of the garage and headed straight for Zootopia Central Station about twenty minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive. As Richard had surmised, it only took them about nineteen minutes, give or take a few seconds for the traffic lights. The only thing that had kept them from arriving precisely when the train pulled up was finding a parking space. Oddly enough, the lot was mostly fully, probably due to lots of mammals from Zootopia heading out for Summer Break.

Richard gave his wife a kiss on the cheek as he kept the engine running. “I’ll be right back,” he said before sliding from the car, his feet moving at a brisk pace so he could try to intercept Josephine and “lil Kody” before they managed to either call him or hail a cab.

“Miss Grey,” the old fox called out several times at the top of his lungs, as his eyes searched the near vacant foyer of the train station. Most of what he could see from his height were taller mammals; lions, wolves, elephants, gnus, and gazelles that were mixed in with lemmings, shrews, and mice.

“How hard is it to find a fox in this place,” he muttered to himself. But just as he was about to head over to the help desk, a gap formed in small herd, allowing him to see a very lovely vixen holding onto a young kit’s paw.

“Miss Grey,” the tod called out to her as he started to wind his way through the crowd towards the other foxes.

Jo stared as the deep red tod in a business suit seemed to dance through the crowd towards him. Had they been in more ancient times, the vixen would have thought he might have been the boss of a fox troop, if not the boss of a forest with the way he moved. “Y… yes,” the vixen called out, her eyes still fixated on the other fox.

Richard popped out of the crowd with an air of style and grace that seemed beyond his years, but he prided himself in that. “Miss Grey,” he called again, a warm smile on his face as he pushed his hand out towards the vixen, “I’m Richard Rowan. We spoke on the phone earlier.”

Jo nodded her head as she took the tod’s paw, her son slowly and sleepily looking between his mother and the strange fox. His initial reaction was to let go of his mother’s hand and grab her by the hem of her sun dress, slowly sliding just slightly in behind her. It was a natural reaction, something that was preprogrammed into the kit from long ago. His mother would protect him from strange tods, especially since in the savage times, tods had no problem killing kits to force vixens into heat.

Kody’s movement immediately pulled Richards eyes away from Jo’s, his hand sliding away from hers mid-handshake as he slowly squatted down to eye level with the kit, placing his head on par with the vixen’s hips. The old fox had to ignore some of his senses, mostly his nose since he was picking up the distinct odor of wolf mixing in with the odor of whatever fur shampoo Jo had used earlier in the day. “And you must be ‘lil Kody,’” the tod said, but the kit seemed to retreat further behind his mother, letting out a frightened whimper.

Richard pulled his gaze back up at Jo, “He doesn’t talk much does he? Is he mute?”

Jo blushed as Kody pressed tightly against his mother’s leg, “Nossir. He ain’t mute. He’s jist shy round strangers is all.”

“Ah. I understand. Mike was the same way at his age. They grow out of it eventually, though I’m a bit surprised he hasn’t already. Chris was never the kind to cower behind his mother,” the tod reminisced as he slowly stood back up.

Jo looked down at her son. “Kody, this here’s yer daddy’s daddy. He’s yer grandsire.”

The still skittish tod kit poked his head around his mother’s leg. “H… hello.”

Richard smiled, “That’s the spirit.” His attention moved back over to Jo, “So. Is his name ‘lil Kody’ or is that his nickname?”

Jo giggled, “Naw. His name’s Kody. I jist cain’t help but add the lil in erry now’n’gain.”

Kody’s grandsire nodded, “Ah. My son had a nickname of Little Wolf.”

The vixen giggled and blushed a little, “I thinks I knows why.”

“Oh? Would you mind filling me in?”

Jo blushed harder, “Uhm… It ain’t polite conversation.”

Richard smirked as he let out a knowing laugh, “I see. Well. Chris was never little. He was always a big tod, even as a kit.”

Kody looked genuinely confused by the two. “What’s he talkin’ bout, mama?”

“I’ll tells ya when yer growed, Kody,” the vixen replied quickly as she looked at Richard. The other tod was smiling, “If you’d like, you can stay with my wife and I while you’re here.”

“That’s a might kindaya,” Jo said with a smile, but her attention was immediately drawn to a mighty yawn her kit let out, “I thinks we sh’d prolly takes ya up on that now. It’s past his bedtime.”

Richard nodded, “Well, follow me.”


	27. Home Away From Home

Kody held onto his mother’s hand tightly as she followed this new fox. He wasn’t sure if he liked his father’s father, then again, he was only four and he’d never met another fox outside of his immediate family. His mother seemed to trust him, so the kit trusted him as well. The tod squeezed his mother’s hand as the two adults casually exchanged light banter about the train ride, but all Kody could think about was curling up and going to sleep.

His mind was so focused on sleep that he didn’t remember much about getting in the car. He vaguely remembered a ruby colored vixen that had mentioned how much he looked like his father. All he did remember was crawling into the back seat and feeling his mother buckle him in before sleep enveloped him.

Jo smiled softly as she gently stroked over her son’s head. He’d passed out again not two minutes after getting in the car. “Iz sorry,” the vixen said as she looked at Chris’ mother, “Its past his bedtime.”

Ruby nodded her head as she smiled softly, her mind wandering back to her own kits doing the same thing. “It’s all right,” she replied with a warm, motherly smile, “Mike and Chris were the say way when they were his age.” The vixen paused for a second before adding, “He looks a lot like Chris.”

Jo nodded as she looked down at her son, “He does. Course all m’famly thinks he looks a might like his cousin, Gideon.”

Ruby’s head moved up and down, “He’s a handsome tod.”

“Thank you,” the reddish-yellow vixen replied with a smile, her paw still stroking over his head.

“So,” Richard decided to pipe in as he started driving, “You and Chris were an item? He never told us about you til last night. How long did you two date?”

Jo bit her lower lip. It wasn’t something she really liked to talk about, especially around Kody, but he was asleep and couldn’t hear. “W’dated fer bout two months,” she replied, “but I kept’m at arms lenth fer most of it.” There was a long pause as her ears flatten, “Then… well… Iz ended up’n heat.”

“You did make him wear a condom, didn’t you?”

Ruby glared at her husband, “RICHARD!”

“What? I just want to know if we should sue the manufacturer.”

Jo gulped and looked down at her sleeping son, her ears flattening against her head, “I… I thought he did.”

Chris’ father started to chew on the side of his lip, “Well. That option’s out.”

Ruby gave her husband another icy glare before looking back at Jo. “I’m… I’m sorry for what Chris did to you, Josephine,” the red pelted vixen said as her ears folded against the top of her head.

“It ain’t that he knocked me up that iz still sore bout,” the reddish-yellow fox said as she stared at her son, “What he said t’me… bout bortin’ my lil boy… how he dinnt want t’own up t’what he dun… that’s whut hurts th’most.”

The car became dead quiet save for the sound of the motor and some music playing low on the radio. Ruby was staring at Kody as she let out a heavy sigh, “I… I never thought Chris would do or say something like that. Seeing his son… I’m glad you didn’t go through with it, Josephine. I just wish… you seem like such a nice vixen… I wish you and Chris.”

Jo nodded, “There was a few days where I wished he’d married me.” Her gaze moved down to her son, “It’s been a might hard on Kody not havin’ a daddy.”

“I’m surprised you’re not married,” Richard butted in, “A lovely vixen like you. I’d expect you to have about four or five tods… even a wolf chasing you around.”

The vixen’s face immediately flushed at his addition of wolf. He’d smelled Hubert on her. “I… well… th’only foxes in Bunnyburrah er me’n’m’kin. Erryone else is bunnies.”

“Ah. Not a fan of bunnies?”

Jo felt her face keep flushing, “Well, I likes’m but theys all t’scurred uh foxes t’ever date one.”

“I dated a bunny in college,” her ex’s father continued, “They’re incredible, though not on the same level as coontang.”

“RICHARD,” Ruby snarled at her husband, who just started to smile sheepishly, “But foxes are the best. No doubt. Much better than rabbits. Or raccoons. Or wolves.”

Jo giggled softly to herself. Richard was right in a way. Chris had been wonderful, but he wasn’t beating out Hubert. “Yessir.”

The conversation ended right there for the most part, though Ruby did ask a few questions about what she and her family did, and a few more mundane ones about what the weather was like and what she liked to do for fun. It didn’t officially end until they pulled into the garage and made their way up to the Rowans’ apartment.

Amazingly, Kody was fast asleep the entire trip. Jo thought about trying to wake him up when they arrived, but she decided against it, just picking him up and carrying him over her shoulder. Strangely enough, Richard was all whispers as he showed Jo first to Kody’s room, which had at one time been Mike’s, and then to Jo’s room, which had been Chris’. The vixen found it a bit odd that she would be sleeping in the same bed that her ex had occupied, and politely switched rooms with her son.

“I thinks he’ll like sleepin’ in his daddy’s room more,” Jo said softly before slipping into the room with her son. Gently, the vixen slid him in bed, not even attempting to get him into the pajamas she’d packed for him. She gave him a soft kiss on his head before turning off the lights. “G’night sugar fox.”


	28. Is that my Daddy?

When Kody awoke the next morning, the kit was very disoriented. The room he was in wasn’t his. None of his toys were there and neither was his cousin, Gideon. He vaguely remembered a train ride last night, but nothing about his surroundings made sense to him. He was just about to let out a whimper when he noticed a different smell about the place, something both different and familiar.

His young nostrils went to work sniffing at the blankets. There was of course his scent, and his mother’s scent, but there was a faint scent as well. It smelled like his scent, but it was just a little different, a little off. “Daddy,” he whispered softly as he started to move his gaze around the room.

The room didn’t belong to a child. From the more formal look of the sheets, pillows, furniture, and paint, it belonged to someone much older. There were a few pictures here and there, mainly on the desk, but some were hanging on the walls. The kit’s eyes stared at them, moving from one picture to another. There was a fox in the pictures that looked like him, but was a much darker red than him. He looked like he was colored like some of those Red Delicious Apples his grandfather and some of the other farmers in the area grew in their orchards. Was he looking at his father?

Kody was just about to say something when his mother wandered into the room, a warm smile of her face as she stared down at her son. “G’mornin’, sugar fox,” the vixen said sweetly as she moved over to sit down on the bed, a hand gliding over to gently brush the top of her son’s head. The young tod smiled as he looked up at his mother. He pointed to one photograph that was hanging on the wall, “Mama? Is that daddy?”

Jo turned her gaze to where her son was pointing, following his finger to a portrait style image of Chris in his graduation cap and gown, a large smile on his face. The vixen slowly nodded her head, “That’s yer daddy, Kody.”

The tod stared at the picture before turning his attention over to his mother, “He looks like me, mama.”

“He sure does, sugar fox,” she replied softly as she gave the top of his head another gently pet, “We’re going to see him today.”

Her son’s face light up, “Really? I gits t’see m’daddy?”

Jo had considered backing out as she lay in bed, but after spending nearly ninety dollars on train tickets and seeing her son’s expression of pure happiness, there was really no going back. “We sure are, Kody,” she said softly as she leaned in to give the top of his head a warm kiss, “Ya wants some breakf’st?”

The kit’s head nodded quickly, something that only made his mother smile more, “Ya gots t’git cleaned up first, sugar fox.”

“Do I has t’,” he pouted, but the vixen was steadfast, “Ya been wearing th’same thing fer alm’st two days now. Ya needs t’take a shower and git changed.”

Her son huffed. It was easy to tell he really wanted to see his father to the point where skipping basic hygiene was an option. The mother and son had a quick staring contest, but the kit gave up rather quickly. Slowly, he kicked off the covers before sliding over to the side of the bed. “M… mama?”

“Yes, shoog?”

“Whar’s th’ potty?”

Jo giggled sweetly as she slowly slid off the bed before taking her son’s hand. “I’ll show ya, sweetheart.”

Kody held onto his mother’s hand as she guided him down to the end of the hall to where the guest bathroom was. “It’s right here. I’ll gits yer tooth brush,” she said before depositing her son in the small bathroom that contained a toilet and a small shower. The tod looked between the toilet and the shower, not sure where to start. He’d almost made a decision when his mother returned, holding his tooth brush in her paw before setting it down on the sink. “I’ll leaves ya to it,” she told her son before closing the door behind her.

Jo listened closely until she heard the sound of running water coming from the shower before she went back to Kody’s room. The vixen let out a long sigh as she looked around, slowly taking in her surroundings. She wasn’t surprised that there were a lot of pictures up on the walls. She remembered how Chris had been very photogenic. He’d brought a camera with him everywhere he went. They’d taken many photos together, though, she’d burned all her copies of them.

Casually, the vixen wondered if Chris still had the negatives. It would be something she’d have to bring up when they talked. Since Kody wanted to know all about his father, it was only right that she find a way to get new copies of those pictures for him, to see how happy she and Chris were for the two months they’d dated.

Right now, though, she needed to get Kody’s new set of clothes out. The vixen made her way over to the back pack, slowly unzipping it before reaching inside to pull out another set of overalls and a yellow shirt. The kit loved wearing overalls, probably because they were easier to get in and out of. Jo laid them out before putting down a set of underwear for her son. She would of course have to make his bed, but she could save that for after he got dressed.

Gently, she reached over and grabbed Kody’s security blanket and that stuffed Robin Hood toy he loved so much. “He prolly though ya were his daddy,” Jo said softly as she gave the doll a smile before setting him and the blanket down on a nearby chair. He never went anywhere without it, well, almost anywhere. She hadn’t let him take it to Church in a long time, not since he was two.

The Tupuna buck rabbit had teased him about it in Sunday School and a few of the other bunnies had joined in. He’d run out of Mrs. King’s classroom sobbing to his mother. The vixen had of course taken him home, but not after having to hold him tight and console him. She’d told him he couldn’t take the toy to Church from then on, mainly to protect him from the teasing, but it never truly stopped. The bunnies found new ways of tormenting the tod, mainly centering around how he didn’t have a father.

Letting out a soft sigh, Jo slipped out of the room and headed back to the kitchen.


	29. Coffee

Richard looked at the paper, casually thumbing through it as he read a few of the articles. For the most part, the news didn’t interest him unless there was something there that could directly affect his finances, either his investments or his ability take someone, either individual or corporation, to court. Slowly, he folded the paper in half before reaching over to grab his cup of coffee, guiding it up to his lips before taking a long sip.

“Mmm… the Nectar of the Gods, but I think you made to too sweet today, honey,” he said as the tod’s eyes closed. Ruby let out a soft chuckle as she sat next to him, slowly thumbing through the latest medical journal she’d gotten in the mail. Her husband was notorious for not paying attention to what he was doing while distracted, especially when it came to coffee. He liked his coffee with two sugars, but if he wasn’t paying attention, two sugars easily turned into eight or nine.

“You did it again, Richard.”

“Did what again?”

“You added too much sugar.”

“No I didn’t. I added the perfect amount. I think you’re buying that ultra-sweet coffee blend again.”

Ruby shook her head as she turned her attention back to the journal, “Whatever you say, dear.” She went back to “reading” though, in reality, she was just staring blankly at words. Her mind was elsewhere, mainly on her dying son. The last four years had taken a great deal out of her, to the point where she had started to actively consider retirement. It wouldn’t be a bad thing. The hospital had always managed to put her on shifts that kept her and Richard from seeing one another. It had been a miracle that she’d managed to raise one son, let alone give birth to a second and raise both of them.

The fox was just about to bring up the idea when Jo returned, the reddish-yellow vixen sliding into a seat at the table to look at her pseudo-in-laws. Richard gave her a warm smile, “So. I take it Kody’s awake?”

“He is,” Jo replied as she picked up her mug of coffee, taking a small sip of the sweet mud colored liquid. The elder tod nodded, “Is he looking forward to meeting Chris?”

The vixen smiled softly, “He’s been dreamin’ uh th’day he’d meet his daddy fer years.” She paused for a second, “When he was smaller, he used t’think m’brother was his daddy.”

“You say that like that’s not a common occurrence.”

Ruby growled as Jo snorted, “It ain’t sumthin’ that happens offen.”

“Really?”

“Really,” the younger fox replied as she took another swig of her coffee.

“Huh,” Richard said in disbelief. He was just about to pry more when his wife butted in, “I’m sure Chris will be happy to see you again, Josephine.”

“Ya don’ts has t’call me that, Mizzuz Rowan. Errybody calls m’Jo.”

“I’m sure Chris will be happy to see you again, Jo,” the matronly vixen repeated herself with a warm smile, “He said he regretted not marrying you.”

Jo looked down at her mug. She thought of one hundred different ways to reply to that last statement. Everything from, “He had his chance,” to, “I wish he would have too,” to, “I wish I could believe that.” The reddish-yellow vixen wasn’t entirely sure how to respond, so she just stayed quiet for the moment.

Ruby slowly reached out to rest her hand on the younger fox’s arm, “I wish he would have too, Jo.”

Jo’s lips began to curl up in a warm smile. She began to wish that she’d contacted Ruby and Richard four years ago when Kody was born. The two weren’t like Chris at all.

“Chris should have married you,” Richard added, “It wasn’t right what he did. Why, when I put Chris in Ruby, I married her on the spot! And we’ve had a wonderful marriage, haven’t we honey?”

Ruby chuckled as she looked over at her husband. “So far, so good,” she teased the tod as she leaned back in her chair.

Jo looked over at Richard, blinking a few times as she absorbed what he’d just said. Slowly, she turned her head between Richard and Ruby. “Ya mean,” the vixen started to say, but Ruby cut her off with a nod, “Yes. I got pregnant, but Richard stopped everything and married me.”

“How long didja date?”

“Oh, about six or seven months,” Richard said, but his wife corrected him, “More like three.”

Jo blinked several times. Ruby and Richard weren’t that much different from her and Chris, but Richard had done what his son hadn’t; owned up to the consequences. Slowly, the vixen’s ears flattened, “Are ya disappointed that we didn’t get hitched?”

Ruby and Richard looked over at each other before Richard answered for them. “Yes.”

There was a long pause as the three foxes took a swig of their coffee. No one seemed to be completely sure what to say next, but luckily, Kody rescued them from that dilemma as he waddled into the kitchen.

“Mama,” he said as he made a b-line towards his mother, “Can I has some cereal?”

Jo gently ran her hand over the top of his head. He was holding onto his blanket and his stuffed toy again. She was just about to answer when she realized she’d never found out if Richard and Ruby had any cereal.

Ruby smiled over at Jo, “We’ve got some Frosted Corn Flakes. Can he have sugary cereal?”

The reddish-yellow vixen smiled, “He can.”

The kit was smiling happily as his grandmother chuckled, “I’ll be right back.”


	30. Ancestry

Kody smiled as he crawled up into a chair next to his mother, the kit beaming as his tail flicked about behind him. Slowly, he looked over at his mother before turning his gaze over to Richard. The much older tod was looking at him, studying him slowly. The kit started to scoot towards his mother, his ears flattening as he started to hold his blanket and stuffed toy even tighter against himself.

“Mama?”

“Yes, sugar fox?”

Kody slowly looked over at his mother, leaning into whisper into her ear, “W… why’s he lookin’ at me likes that?”

Jo slowly looked at her son. “Yer grampa is jist curious is all, shoog. He dinnt have no grandtod b’fore yer daddy told him boutcha.”

“Grampa,” the kit replied, a confused look on his face. It was then his mother realized just how sleepy he’d been last night. “That’s right, Kody. That’s yer Grampa Richard. Ya knows the vixen who wents t’getcha serial?”

The tod nodded his head, “Yes, mama.”

“That’s yer Gramma Ruby,” Jo said softly, “Ya mets’m last night, sugar fox, but ya were s’tired that I don’t thinks ya member.”

The kit shook his head. He didn’t remember, but he still didn’t like how his grandfather was looking at him. Kody started to press more and more against his mother, trying to slink in behind her just as his grandmother returned with a bowl of cereal and a carton of milk. The elder vixen smiled as she poured the milk into the bowl before sliding it over to her grandtod. “Here you go, Kody.”

The kit looked at the cereal, then up at his grandmother, then over at his grandfather before he started to dig in. He’d only managed a few bites before Richard decided to say something. “So. Kody. You’re four years old?”

The tod kit paused his eating. “I’m almost five,” he replied with a big smile on his face. His grandsire nodded his head as he reached over to take a sip of his coffee, “You’re big for your age. Your daddy was the same way.”

“He was?”

“Yes, he sure was,” the old tod replied before setting the mug down. “Do you take that doll and blanket with you everywhere?”

Kody put the spoon down, his grip on the blanket and the Robin Hood toy getting tighter as his ears flicked around on the top of his head. “Y… yes.”

Ruby’s ears started to flatten as well as she looked at her husband. She had an idea of where he might be going with this, though, she was curious to see how this was going to play out before she intervened.

“Is that Robin Hood?”

Kody slowly nodded his head, “Y… yes.”

“Your father and uncle LOVED that movie when they were kits. He and your Uncle Mike used to play Robin Hood for hours on end,” Richard told his grandtod with a big grin on his face.

Ruby and Jo blinked a few times, though Kody’s face light up. “Really? It’s daddy’s favorite too?”

The elder tod nodded as he took another sip of coffee. “Oh, I think we saw it at least six times in theaters, though we were both disappointed because they cut out a very important character.”

Kody looked confused, “What do ya mean, grampa?”

Richard smiled, “They cut out William Rowan!”

The kit’s head tilted, “William? Rowan?”

“Yes! Robin Hood’s son, William Rowan! His nickname was Will Scarlet because of how red his fur was, but William Rowan was his real name! He’s my ancestor, Kody. He’s your ancestor too!”

Kody blinked a few times as what Richard said began to sink in. He was related to his hero! “REALLY,” the kit squeaked out as his eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

His grandfather chuckled, “Your father and uncle had that exact same reaction when I told them. Really. Robin Hood’s real name was Robin Rowan. He was married to a different woman before he left for the Crusades. His wife gave birth to William Rowan, but she died when he was young. Robin then married Maid Marian and had children with her, but they were all Locksleys because Richard granted him the Earleship of Locksleys. Robin’s first son stayed a Rowan. You’re a great grandson of Robin Hood, Kody.”

The kit seemed to bounce up and down in his chair, his entire face glowing like it was birthday and Christmas all rolled into one. “I’M! I’M! I’M! I’M RELATED TO ROBIN OOD,” he screamed at the top of his voice. All his dreams were coming true today; he was a son of Robin Hood and he was finally going to meet his father.


	31. Braveheart

Kody was ecstatic at the news, so much so that he couldn't stop bouncing around as he held onto his security blanket and stuffed toy. As happy as his mother was for her son to learn that he was actually a distant relative to his hero, Jo wished that Richard had waited to tell him about that until after the kit had met his father. The vixen kept stroking over the top of her son's head, attempting to calm him down, but he just kept beaming up at her with that expression of pure joy and happiness that only made his mother smile.

Deep down though, Jo wasn't sure if Richard was telling the truth or trying to get on Kody's good side. She'd only known him and his wife since their phone call last night, and the old tod's story could be just that, a story meant to win the trust of his grandtod, who, up till now, had been scared and skittish around him. The reddish-yellow pelted vixen opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it, especially when Ruby reached out to put a hand on her forearm.

The elder female nodded her head and smiled. "Richard's father told him that story when he was a kit, and naturally, Richard looked into it," The elder vixen said as she gently patted Jo's forearm, "it turned out to be completely true." There was something in Ruby's eyes that told her Richard wasn't lying. It took a second for Jo to start smiling as well. It wasn't like she'd never wished she hadn't been Maid Marian when she was a little kit, so hearing that her ex was related to Robin Hood made her blush.

"Well I'll be," the reddish-yellow fox said softly as she looked down at her son. He was still beaming up at her happily, his tail flicking and flopping about like a fish that had been freshly ripped out of its watery home by a fisherman. Gingerly, she pulled her gaze away from her son and over to her son's grandmother. "Mizzuz Rowan," she began, but the ruby red pelted vixen stopped her, "Just Ruby is fine, Jo. You're family."

Jo nodded, "Ruby. Do ya knows where Chris kept his negatives?"

Ruby looked a little curious, though Richard once again decided he needed to be involved in the conversation once more. "Negatives? Why would you want negatives?"

The younger vixen chewed on her bottom lip. "Iz hopin' t'git sum photos reprinted. Chris and I tooks lots uh pitures t'gether, 'n, well, I... uhm... I..."

The elder vixen realized where she was going with this and finished Jo's sentence for her, "You lost them when you moved back home to Bunnyburrow?"

"Yes. Xactly."

"Well, I think they're in his room. I know he kept a lot of photos in a shoebox or three, but I've never gone through them," she replied as she slowly leaned back in her chair, her eyes moving from her pseudo-daughter-in-law over to her grandtod then back over to Jo. "I've also got some extra pictures of Chris you could take home if you want."

Jo didn't look extremely comfortable with the idea, but her discomfort faded when she glanced down at her son. She couldn't deny him the proof that he had a father, especially if it meant that he could finally silence the Hopps, Baxter, Cottontail, and Tupuna bucks for good. "Yes. Yes, I'd like to take a few home, but that's summin' we c'n gits t' later."

Ruby nodded slowly, knowing what Jo was getting at. "You're ready to visit Chris," the older vixen asked as she looked at the mother of her grandtod.

"Yes," the younger fox replied, but her son enthusiastically added, "I wanna see daddy," with a huge smile on his face.

Ruby stared at her grandtod. "Kody, sweetie," she began, "I... I want you to know that your daddy is very sick. So there will be some things you might find scary." The vixen paused before looking over at his mother, "Has he ever been to a hospital?"

Jo shook her head, "Not a big fancy one. Theys gots a small one in Bunnyburrah, but theys mostly cater t'kits'n'cubs and nothin' t'serious."

Ruby nodded in understanding before she turned to look down at Kody. "Kody, sweetie, it's okay if you get scared in the hospital. I know I do too sometimes."

"I'll be brave! Just like Robin Ood," the kit retorted, his chest puffing up as a big smile crossed his lips. His demeanor made his grandmother smile. There was something about that look that brought back a memory of her son Chris doing the exact same thing right before he went in to get a shot.


	32. The Cowardly Lion

Unfortunately, Ruby had been one hundred percent correct about the way Kody would react to being at the hospital. The illusion of bravery had melted like a popsicle in the Sahara the minute the four foxes had stepped through the doors leading out of the parking garage.

Their senses were assaulted by the noise of ringing phones, the intercom paging doctors, and people trying to yell over each other as they tried to be heard. But it wasn't only auditory battery, there was a very distinct odor wafting through the air. It was hospital smell, a scent so unique that it’s nearly impossible to describe in a single word other than attempted sterilization. There were multiple distinct odors that all blended together; the smell of Simple Green mixed in with bleach which was also jumbled in with industrial grade disinfectants as well as the body odors of hundreds of different people all in varying stages of cleanliness ranging from freshly washed to haven't gotten to shower in three days.

Kody clung to his mother tightly as his grandfoxes lead him and his mother down the twisting, winding halls. A few of the doctors greeted Ruby as they passed by, but the kit didn't say anything outside of a frightened whimper. He wanted to be brave for his father, but there was just something about this place the tod didn't like at all. Between the smell and the noise, there just seemed to be some kind of gloom that hung around like a permanent fog. All the tod could think about was seeing his father and getting away from the hospital.

The four foxes would their way through the clinic, moving from one section to the next, twisting down corridors until they finally reached a set of elevators. It took a few seconds for one of them to finally open, but they had to wait as an orderly pushed a gurney out before they could get in. Unfit, light hearted simple music played over a speaker above them as Ruby pressed the button for the floor. Kody, meanwhile, pressed tightly against his mother, clutching onto the hem of her blue sundress with white polka dots with one hand while desperately clinging to his plushie and security blanket with the other.

Jo gently moved her hand down to brush over the top of Kody's head, not saying a word as they felt the elevator begin to move. The light behind the floor number panel jumped as they kept making their way higher up the skyscraper of a hospital, each floor chime making Jo, and Kody by some extension, more and more nervous. Finally, they stopped as they reached the fifteenth floor. There were twenty-four floors in all, not including the two story deep maintenance level that included a subway station. Jo and Kody looked at one another, before the mother turned her gaze to look at Ruby and Richard. The elder vixen nodded her head as the door opened in front of the troop of four.

The reddish-yellow vixen had been expecting the same chaos she'd seen in the lower floors, but that wasn't the case. This was the Terminally Ill Ward, a place where people who were going to die went to live out their last few days or hours on Earth. It seemed like a place of complete peace and tranquility, unlike the pandemonium occurring elsewhere.

Ruby slowly turned her gaze to look at Jo and Kody. The tod seemed to be relaxing slightly, though he still looked frightened knowing that he'd have to go through the mayhem again after he met his father. "This place is reserved for terminally ill patients," the red vixen said as she looked at her grandtod and his mother, "We figured out that it helped the patients and their loved ones more if they had some place quiet to say their good byes instead of having to compete with the hustle and bustle in the hospital proper."

Jo nodded her head in understanding, though Kody didn't understand. "G... gramma? What's ter... terman.... termanilla-y ill," he asked out of pure curiosity. He was four, his vocabulary not well developed, and he needed things explain in a way he could understand.

Ruby was just about to say something when Jo managed to pipe up before her. "It means theys got sick 'n iz going t'Heaven, Kody."

"Ohhh," the kit replied as he looked up at his mother, still holding onto the hem of her dress.

They made their way down the hall, past several rooms before finally stopping at Chris'. Ruby grabbed a chart that was hanging out front beside the door. Her eyes scanned over it, flicking through and reading several notes before placing the clipboard back.

"Chris is awake, but he's a little lucid due to the medication. He's usually only awake for about an hour or two at a time from what my colleagues tell me, though it's getting longer since his body is developing a tolerance to the pain medication," the ruby furred vixen told her grandtod and his mother, "Might I recommend you both go in at the same time?"

Jo shook her head. "I wants t'go in first. There's thangs I wants t'talk t'Chris bout before he meets Kody."

Ruby nodded her head. She figured that might be the case. "I hope you don't mind if I go in with you at the beginning, Jo."

The other vixen shook her head, "I don'ts see why not." Slowly, Jo's attention turned to Kody, "I'll cum getcha in a few minutes, sugar fox. Yer daddy'n'I jist has some thangs t'settle first."

The kit looked up at his mother then over at his grandsire. The old tod was smiling at him. It was a different smile though, like a sad smile. "Okay, mama."

Jo leaned in to give the top of her son's head a gentle kiss before sliding over beside Ruby, "B'nice t'yer grampa."


	33. Reconcilliation

Jo had prepared herself for this moment many times in the last four years. She'd thought about everything she could ever say to him the next time they met. Of course, every reaction was situational and depended on him as well. If he had come groveling back, she would have welcomed him. If he had rolled up like the Nazi's had done to Warsaw, she had no problem tossing off the mask of civility. However, Jo had never prepared herself for what she saw before her.

The handsome muscular tod she'd fallen for was scrawny and sinewy. His muscle mass and definition were gone. A tube forced air into his lungs as three IVs were plugged into his veins; one for hydration, one for food, and one for medication. As many times as she'd wanted Chris to die, part of her was screaming out, "Not like this!"

A hand moved up to her lips as she gasped only to let out a stifled whimper of sadness. A gaunt, emaciated face slowly seemed to take notice of her, Chris' dimly light wolven eyes beginning to light up. "Jo," he asked weakly, "Jo? Is that you?"

Josephine nodded her head up and down, a tear starting to form in the corner of her eye. "It... its good t'sees y'again, Chris."

Chris let out a coughing laugh as he looked at her, "I thought... I thought you didn't want to see me again."

"I dinnt," the vixen replied as she slowly moved over to sit down next to him, "Not fer th'longest time, but... yer folks told me whatcha said Saturdy. I... I wants t'know, Chris, didja means it?"

Chris reached up a bony hand, gently wrapping his fingers around hers. The dying tod coughed again as he nodded his head. "I did, Jo. I should have married you," he wheezed out as he stared into Jo's eyes. The vixen stared back, her own eyes boring a way into his soul, searching for even the slightest hint at a lie. She didn't find one.

"There's been days that I wished ya had, Chris," Jo whispered softly as he gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I gots someone whose been waitin' t'meetcha, Chris," she continued, "Iz jist has one question; if we'd gotten hitched, didja wants a tod er a vixen?"

Chris let out a coughing chuckle, "Tod for the first child, vixen for the second."

The vixen smiled softly. "Jist one more thing."

"What?"

"I was wunderin' if ya still has all th'negatives uh those pitures ya took of us. I... well... I..."

"You burned them, didn't you?"

"I did," Jo said softly.

"I don't blame you. My closet in my old room. Top shelf. Black and white box," he replied with a smile, "I've missed you, Jo."

The vixen gulped. She couldn't believe she was saying this, but she said, "I missed ya too, sugar fox."

"Jo. Did you ever... ya know... think about us... ya know... after we," Chris stumbled for his words, but the vixen cut him off, "I did, erry s'often, Chris, but ya brokes m'heart when ya told me ya didn't wants t'marry me, when ya told me t'bort my kit."

The tod's ears folded against his head. "I wish I hadn't said that, Jo. You were the only vixen that I actually dated. Most of the time, I'd learn a vixen's name and that was about it. But you... you were different. I never got over losing you."

"Ya pushed me away, Chris. Only person ya has t'blame is yerself."

Jo was right. Chris knew she was right. Deep down, there was a part of him that wished he could somehow go back 4 years and tell his past self to come groveling to Josephine Grey and beg her to marry him, but that was never going to happen. He hadn't burned the bridge. He'd burned it, carpet bombed it, hit it with a strategic nuclear missile, and then stabbed it in the heart for good measure.

Jo gave Chris' hand a squeeze. "But the past don't matter now. There's someone whose been wantin' t'meetcha his entire life."

The fox blinked, "You mean, you had a tod?"

The vixen nodded her head as she let go of Chris' hand and moved to the door. Jo opened it a crack before sticking her head out. "Ya c'n cum in now."


	34. Dreams Come True

Kody looked up at his mother, his hand reaching out to gently take her hand as he slid off the chair. The kit looked over his shoulder at his grandmother and grandfather one more time before he slowly started to walk inside.

The room frightened the young tod. A heartrate monitor beeped, an iron lung hummed as it forced air into someone’s lungs. The kit’s ears lay flat against his head as he squeezed his mother’s hand, his doll, and his security blanket even more tightly out of discomfort. Even though he was tall for his age, he wasn’t able to see over the gurney much, but he did see someone lying there. His face was skinny but his fur was a deep red in the same pattern as his own as tears started to stream down his face.

Chris stared at his son, unable to not cry. He was already pathetic looking, and his tears did add to the state of how he looked. A deep sorrow overtook him. That was his son. That was the kit he’d told Jo to abort over four years ago. He’d already hated himself for thinking that, and now, actually seeing his tod, he hated himself even more.

The dying fox coughed as he cried, bawling like a kit who’d skinned his knee. The pain he felt wasn’t coming from his lungs or the machines hooked up to him. It was coming from deep in his own heart. He was realizing just how much of a fool he’d been, and the more he realized it, the worse he felt and the more he cried.

“D… daddy,” Kody said softly, his own eyes starting to moisten as he stared at his sire. The tod in the bed let out a coughing sniffle as he shook his head. “I… I’m your… I’m your daddy, Kody,” he managed to say between the tears and the wheezing.

The young tod let go of his mother’s hand as he ran over, the tears starting to flow down his cheeks as he dropped his doll and his security blanket. Kody tried to get up on the gurney several times, only ending up jumping as high as he could to see his father.

Jo hadn’t shed a tear yet, but seeing her son finally realize his dream made her break down along with the two males. Tears streamed down her face as she reached down to pick her son up by the armpits and plop him down on the edge of the bed.

Kody didn’t waste any time as he scrambled up to give his father the tightest hug he’d ever given anyone, even his mother. His head pressed into the fur and bones of the once mighty broad chest that Chris had sported only a few years earlier.

Chris let out wheezing sobs as he held onto his son tightly, his lips moving to give the kit a kiss on the top of his head. “I’m sorry, Kody. I’m so sorry,” he whimpered, but his son just sobbed out, “Daddy.” It was the only word that came to the kit’s mind at all. He couldn’t say, “I’ve missed you,” or, “I love you,” just, “Daddy.”

Chris’ red rimmed eyes slowly turned to look at Jo, seeing her own tears flowing down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Jo. I’m so sorry,” he whimpered and wheezed as he held onto his son tightly. It was the only thing he could say. Deep in his mind though, he was begging for another chance, begging to not die so he could stay with Jo and Kody forever, but he knew that was impossible.

The dying fox had destroyed that possibility. In his fear of marriage and fatherhood, he’d isolated himself from the one vixen he’d actually fallen for, the one son he’d ever have. He wished he could take it all back, go back to that day in the cafeteria and tell his younger self to marry her, to be with her, to raise their son, but that chance was gone now. It had faded into the inky blackness of past memory.

“I love you, Kody. Daddy will always love you,” Chris sobbed as he looked down at the kit who was pressed against him.

“Don’t leave, daddy,” his son begged him, “I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t want to go,” Chris cried before turning his head up to scream at the ceiling, “I DON’T WANT TO GO!”

As much as Jo had hated Chris, she realized why she’d fallen for him. Deep down, he was a sweet tod. A loving tod. A tod that had taken her to so many dinners and nights out. A tod that had fallen for her. He wasn’t as sweet and bashful as Hubert was on the exterior, but she’d always managed to pull out his sweet side when they’d been together.

The vixen sniffled as she took Chris’ hand one more time. “I… I don’t wants ya t’go neither.”

“I’m sorry, Jo. I’m so sorry,” the dying fox said again as he stared up into Jo’s eyes. She could see into his soul. Stripped bare of the bravado and the machoism of his youth, she could see who he really was, just a scared young tod who’d fallen for her. He was telling her the truth. He really was sorry. He was sorry he’d used her. He was sorry he’d dumped her. He was sorry he’d told her to abort their Kody. He was sorry he didn’t marry her. He was sorry for those and a million other things at the same time.

“I’m sorry too, Chris,” Jo said softly as she leaned in to give him a kiss on the top of his head. It wasn’t a kiss to be thrown away. It was a kiss of love. It was a kiss telling him that she forgave him.

The dying sire closed his eyes again, his chest heaving and shuddering as he struggled to breathe. He wanted another breath. He wanted a billion more of them. He wanted to be healthy again, to carry Jo away down to the Hospital’s Chapel and marry her right then and there. But it was a dying man’s dream.

Slowly, the vixen pried her son off of his father, the kit whimpering and thrashing, screaming out, “I DON’T WANT TO GO! I DON’T WANT DADDY TO GO, MAMA!” But it wasn’t his decision. In the end, it wasn’t his mother’s decision either.

“I love you, Jo,” Chris called out to his ex as she bent down to pick up Kody’s blanket and doll. Slowly, the reddish-yellow angel turned around, her eyes pink and eyelids puffy from the tears. “I love you too, Chris.”

“I love you, Kody,” the dying tod said, “Please forgive me.”

Kody sniffled as he reached out to grab at his father, but he was already too far away. “I love you, daddy! Please, don’t go.”

“I’ll see you again, Kody. Don’t worry.”


	35. Le Morte de Robin Hood

Chris had fallen asleep once more, the medication easing his breathing, but his mind was racing. Synapses fired as he began to dream of a life he’d never have.

He was sitting in the cafeteria, hitting on that wolf bitch again, when Josephine came up to him. Screaming at him for what he’d done to her, but this time, the tod had grabbed her, pulled her in tightly against him. He told her that he would make it up to her.

His mind skipped to a few days later, he and her standing in front of a judge at the Zootopia County Courthouse, his brother Mike there to act as a witness. They signed their names to a marriage certificate that made them Christopher Richard Rowan and Josephine Annabel Grey Rowan. His little brother was congratulating them as he gave his new bride a deep kiss on the lips.

Another jump saw him sitting next to Jo. They were across the table from his parents, the two foxes beaming with pride as they asked them a billion questions. They were holding hands, telling them that they’d already gotten married, but his father was telling him that they needed to have a big wedding down at the Anglican Church.

He jumped through time again, seeing his wife holding his hands. She was in a beautiful white gown, her belly slightly round as Kody grew inside her. They were saying their vows before their families. His tuxedoed arm had slid a ring on her finger, his thumbs rubbing over the tops of her hands before they leaned in to share their first kiss as man and wife in front of their families.

Chris’ mind kept jumping to different points. He was there watching Kody be born. He was sleeping beside his wife as the cub monitor went off, waking them up for another midnight changing. He was playing Robin Hood with his son in the park, like his father had with him and his brother Mike. He was standing there, holding Kody’s hand on his first day of Pre-Kindergarten. He was sitting next to Jo in the bleachers as Kody played soccer. He was watching his son walk down the aisle to get his High School Diploma. He was crying when he dropped his son off at College. He was laughing with his son and his friends at the tod’s bachelor party. He was standing next to Kody when he got married. He was toasting his son at the After Party. He was hugging Jo when Kody called them to tell them they had a grandkit.

The last synapse in Chris’ brain began to fire, the last time skip was coming upon him. Chris was back in a hospital bed, but this time, Kody was much older, probably in his fifties. He wasn’t alone. Kody’s wife was there. Jo was there. The grandkits were there, but Kody was holding his father’s hands as they said one last, “Goodbye.”

Chris’ eyes closed for the last time in the dream and in reality.

 

Kody had cried himself to sleep that afternoon. His mother had put him to bed early again, but the kit didn’t really care about having dinner. He’d finally gotten to see his father and now, he’d never see him again.

In Kody’s dream, he was sitting on that very familiar hillside, staring out into a rolling sea of green. He was still crying, though he wasn’t sure how. “Daddy,” he whimpered softly as he began to rock back and forth on his rump, his arms moving to grip his knees as he pressed his cheeks against his thighs.

A strong hand pressed to against his shoulder, but this time, Kody didn’t look, he just whimpered and kept sobbing.

“Is there something wrong, Kody,” a voice asked as the kit’s ears picked up the rustle of grass as whoever had been resting their hand on his shoulder moved to sit beside him.

“I finally got to meet my daddy,” the tod whimpered as he kept rocking back and forth, “And I’ll never get to see him again.”

“How do you know that,” the voice said again. The tod turned his head to glare at Robin Hood, but it wasn’t Robin Hood who was sitting next to him. It was his father. It was his real father.

The kit lunged out at the older tod, his arms wrapping around that strong barrel chest as he started to weep fresh tears. His father felt so different in the dream, much warmer, much stronger, nothing like the sick dying man he’d seen earlier that day. “DADDY,” he screamed as he sobbed, tears soaking into the other fox’s green tunic, “I… I thought… I thought I’d never gits t’see you again.”

Massive strong arms wrapped around the young kit, pulling him in close. “I’ll always be here,” Chris said as he gave his son a kiss on the top of his head. “And I’ll always be here,” the elder fox continued as he placed a hand in the middle of the kit’s chest.

“Why did you have to go, daddy? You said you loved me.”

“Kody,” he said softly, a hand moving to gently cup his son’s cheek to wipe away a tear, “I made a mistake a long time ago that hurt you, hurt your mother, and hurt me.”

“But it ain’t fair, daddy! It jist ain’t fair!”

“I know, Kody. I know it isn’t fair, but I’ll always be with you. No matter what.”

His father smiled warmly, “Whenever you get sad or scared or lonely, remember that you can always find me here.”

Kody whimpered as he nodded his head. “Can… can we play Robin Ood, daddy?”

Chris smiled, “Any time you want, Kody, but right now, daddy has to take care of a few things first. I’ll be right back.”

His son whimpered as his father let go of him. The kit began to protest as Chris began to walk down the hill. The elder tod turned his head over his shoulder to look back at his son, “It will only take a minute. I promise.”

Kody started to slowly count as he watched the side of the hill. He was just about to get to thirty when he spotted his father in the distance. The kit began to smile happily as he clambered up onto his feet and began to run down towards Chris. He had kept his promise after all.


End file.
